


The Wolf King

by lokilickedme



Category: Loki (Marvel) - Fandom, Loki - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Marvel) - Fandom, Thor - Fandom, Tom Hiddleston - Fandom
Genre: Aleks is a cocky little shit, Anal Fingering, Brothels, Complete, Cunnilingus, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fellatio, Fingering, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Smut, Intercrural Sex, Licking, Loki Does What He Wants, Loki's Kids, Loki's Son Does What He Wants, Long-Term Relationship(s), Loss of Virginity, Masturbation, Nipple Licking, Non-Graphic Smut, Non-Graphic Violence, Non-Penetrative Sex, Nudity, Oral Sex, Public Nudity, Romance, Shapeshifting, Vaginal Fingering, Violence, Virginity, borderline bestiality (but not quite), graphic smut, king/servant relations, tags will be updated with each chapter, tonguing, wolf/human cunnilingus, wolfkink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-22
Updated: 2016-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-07 16:09:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 44,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5462807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lokilickedme/pseuds/lokilickedme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to The King's Heart - Loki and Lyra's oldest son Aleks is now king of Asgard, appointed by the retiring God Of Mischief who just wants to go have some fun.  Still mastering his own magical abilities, the young godking has a few things to deal with while learning how to rule the Nine Realms - including figuring out how to conjure clothes and avoiding his overbearing Uncle Thor, who just wants him to find a nice queen-elect and settle down.   But Loki's mischievous offspring just might have some ideas of his own as to how his life should play out...*play* being the operative word.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

 

 

"Loki - ?"

The angular face lifted, sharp cheekbones cutting the light and casting dark shadows across the handsome, almost feral face.  Jade eyes sparked unnaturally when a shard of light caught them, the mouth twisting into a grin of malice and mirth, dark brow quirking in sardonic amusement at the name uttered through the darkness as a long, lithe, strongly built body unfurled into a standing position, blocking out the light of the moon dancing in through the window behind it.  Silver shadows moved quickly across alabaster flesh and a growl came from somewhere, deep and echoing...a sound from a nightmare.

"No, not Loki," the shadow said, the matter-of-factness in his voice chilling in its simplicity.  "Though if it's true the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, you're looking at the bruised fruit of the branch of Lokison."

The woman gasped, her hand flying to her mouth when she saw the sharp teeth receding and the bones beneath the skin reforming, taking back the form they belonged to, the form of a man.

_The Wolf King._

So he did exist.  

_The son of Loki._

Kneeling, the woman bowed her head, spreading her hands out before her in obeisance.  "Sire," she whispered, her voice edged with pleading as she tried not to look at him, moving about in the darkness.  The shadow's gait seemed unsteady as he came toward her.

"Would you mind lending me your cloak?" he asked, his voice heavy with fatigue and, perhaps, something just shy of apologetic embarrassment.  "I don't seem able to conjure anything at the moment."

Confused, the woman removed her overcoat and held it out to him, watching discreetly as he slipped it on over his naked body.  The cold night air was billowing fog from his mouth like some fabled creature more at home in the underworld than in her barn - yet here he was, shivering as he tugged her cloak around his broad shoulders, the horses watching him curiously from their stalls as if he hadn't just crashed through the window on four legs and was now going to walk out on two.

"Thank you," he said simply, pushing open the tall doors, turning to glance back at her for just a moment as his devilishly angelic face broke into a wide grin.  "Tell me, you haven't happened to see a man who looks just like me, possibly drinking the tavern dry with a small, probably pregnant woman trailing along behind him, have you?"

 

 

_To be continued..._

 


	2. Worldwalker

 

 

"Aleks Lokison, where _have_ you been hiding yourself?"

"Anywhere that my uncle isn't..."

"Ah, is it mating season?  All the fine young things of the Nine Realms being paraded past you, raising their skirts and tipping their bodices in hopes of catching the eye of the king?"

"Something like that."  He eyed a settee that looked particularly inviting, sitting down on it and stretching out his long legs with a grin of satisfaction.  The woman watched him appreciatively as she poured them both a brandy.

"And you, the preening peacock of Asgard, aren't cooperating - ?  I thought you weren't averse to marriage."

The young king grinned.  "It's not marriage I'm not averse to...it's all the lovely things that come with it.  I find myself _very_ much in agreement with them."

"Ah - the act, not the pact?"

"You know me well, Trylla."

The woman brought the ornately cut crystal glass of amber booze to her client and let her fingers slide teasingly over his as he took it, their eyes flirting blatantly with one another while she opened the lower half of her robe and settled in on his knee.

"Oh my handsome little kingling...you look so much like your father, it's almost frightening."

"Frightening?  Why?  Am I dreadful to look at?"  A slow grin crossed the young man's face, his eyes alight with sparkling mischief.  The woman sighed wistfully.

"No...quite the opposite, I'm afraid.  You're beautiful just like Loki was, with a softness to your eyes that I think must have come from your mother."  She stared at him for a long moment.  "How is she?"

"Mother?  Off exploring the galaxy with Father and slowly building an army of their own, peopled entirely of little girls."

"So Loki has sired yet more little princesses for Asgard?"

"He doesn't seem intent on stopping any time soon.  I think Mother might actually be pregnant again already."  His hand snaked up into the folds of her robe, fingers playing lightly across the flesh of her lower belly as he sipped his brandy.

"And you?  Any heirs forthcoming from the Lokison branch of this prolific line?"

He gave her a sideways wink.  "I've not taken a wife yet, Trylla."

"A technicality that should be set right forthwith, trusting in your Uncle's peerless wife-choosing skills."  The little smile turned wistful again.  "He chose your mother, you know.  Some say he chose her for himself...but she and your father became this realm's most beloved love story - against a _great_ many odds."

"Yes, my father's madness for one."

Her tone turned scolding, a disapproving scowl darkening her face.  "Aleks, your father was grieving - "

"I know.  And then I was born, and all was set right."  He twitched his fingers, setting loose a small spark of tingling electricity that made the woman on his lap jump, a surprised and delighted high pitched sound jerking from her throat.  "I seem to be the savior of a great many things."

"You are an arrogant twerp in need of a good spanking."  She settled again, putting her glass down so that she could drape her arms around his neck.  "What are you doing here, anyway?  You're a bit far from Asgard to be hunting."

"Oh but I am...I am hunting a wife.  Have you not heard of the goodwill meetings Ptarsis has decided to fete Asgard with?  I was invited to come and cement our friendly relations with the kingdom over the hills...and my Uncle Thor thought it a good idea to cement a few other _friendly relations_ whilst we're at it."  The suggestive tone in his voice and the wicked tilt to his brow wasn't lost on Trylla and she rolled her eyes.

"I hope you aren't bedding every maiden in the realms, Aleks.  That's the way to find a broken heart and a deviant reputation, not a good wife."

The young king gave a wry little smirk.  "Once again you underestimate me, my cranky old friend.  There is a maid yet to know the... _depths_...of my attentions."

"You're lying."

A genuine laugh erupted from his lips.  "When have I had time to invest in enjoying the carnal pleasures of the female population?  I'm barely out of short pants and already on the throne.  We've been in one war or dispute after another for other realms ever since the day I was born, I've had a sword in my hand more times than my cock.  And then daddy swans off to explore the galaxy and leaves it all to me to protect...the council has been _very_ fortunate that I haven't thrown myself on every nobleman's daughter that has been paraded past me."

"And yet here you are, in a house of _very_ ill repute with a loose woman wriggling on your lap."

"Aye...but my laces are tied and my breeches are high."

"And they shall remain that way as always, I presume?"

The king nodded sagely, a deviant sparkle in his mischievous green eyes.

"Alright then," the woman conceded, scooting over onto the settee on her back as Aleks tugged open the ties of her robe.  "But one of these days when you've mastered your magic, you'd better come back here and give me a taste of that kingly cock."

The dark head of the monarch dipped low between her legs, eliciting a lusty groan from her throat as his tongue dragged lasciviously up her thigh.

"You have my word, my lady."

 

Loki downed his drink and turned to Lyra with a frown.  "The little shit is fucking with the temporal portals again."

"How do you know that?"

"Every time he leaves a realm I get a pain through my left testicle."

"No darling, you're sitting on the hilt of your dagger again."

He scowled, lowering his face close to his wife's.  "He's worldwalking, which means he's not in Asgard where he's supposed to be.  Again."

Lyra patted Loki's arm as he tipped back another Scyllan whiskey.  "Be fair, Loki.  He's a boy, he needs to have some fun."

"He's in a whorehouse."

"Stop spying on him."  She smacked his shoulder to get his attention.  "I mean it.  Shut down that link, now.  What he does with his spare time is his own business."

"He's supposed to be finding a wife, not trysting with prostitutes."

Lyra blinked, staring at her husband.  "Are you talking about Aleks, or are you reminiscing about the council's pronouncement concerning yourself when _you_ took the throne?"

The former king glared darkly at his wife, then shrugged.  "Yeah alright, that's fair.  But he needs to get his skinny ass back home and do his job, he's making me look bad."

"Thor will take care of things.  You're retired, remember?"  She leaned back, rubbing her swollen belly uncomfortably.  Loki's face immediately softened and he reached for her, suddenly concerned.

"Is she alright?"

"Tired and ready to be taken to bed."

Loki grinned.  "You or the baby...?"

 

Aleks rolled over with a groan, rubbing his eyes against the bright sunlight shooting mercilessly in through the open window.  He'd had far too much to drink the previous night and the morning was bringing with it no recollection of how he got to his current location - atop a table in what appeared to be a smoky tavern, with a baleful looking barkeep sweeping the floor nearby.

"Someone left a message for you, young sir," the man said in a grumbling voice.  "Said for you to get - and I quote - _your skinny ass home and do your damn job._  Oh and the lady with him said to tell you to check in on your sisters."

With a yawn, the king sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the table as he stretched his back.  The barkeep stared at him for a long moment before a shocked look of recognition came across his face and he went down on one knee, bowing his head in apologetic reverence.

"Begging pardon, Your Highness," he implored, trying not to watch as Aleks got to his feet and staggered to the bar to slump over it, head spinning and stomach lurching.  "I didn't realize - "

The young man waved his hand dismissively, not wishing to be rude but really hoping to avoid having to speak.  His night was beginning to come back to him and the memory brought with it a distinctly unsettling wave of nausea.  Shoving his hand into his pocket, he brought out some gold and dropped it on the bar, closing his eyes tightly for a moment before vanishing with a loud crackling _pop._

The barkeep rushed to where the king had stood, swatting the bar with his broom to extinguish the flames.

"Bloody boy king," he muttered, slapping out the last of the accidental fire before picking up the gold and dropping it into the till.

 

Thor stalked through the sultan's palace, breathing fury and murder as he kicked open door after door, in hunt of his wayward charge.

_"ALEKS!"_

Room after room refused to yield his nephew, until finally he gave up and made his way to the meeting room to offer his apologies for the delay.  Even Loki had never been this impossible to manage and Thor's temper was at an end.  He would strangle the young king in his sleep and take the throne himself, like he should have done centuries ago while his brother was being the difficult one.

 _Why'd there have to be two of them?_  he groused to himself angrily.   _The universe could hardly bear the burden of one Loki, now there is another -_

"My Liege, my sincerest apolo - "

The sultan looked up, mild confusion showing in his face.  The dark haired young man to his right turned and offered a bright, loopy grin as Thor stopped where he stood, barely containing a heavy sigh of exasperation.

"Hello Uncle...glad you could join us, though you are a _bit_ late."  Aleks turned his best look of contrition to the sultan and bowed his head respectfully.  "I must apologize for my chief consultant, Your Majesty. He has a most appalling sense of time."

The sultan smiled indulgently and waved Thor in, gesturing for him to be seated.  Biting back his anger, the God of Thunder nodded a silent apology and made his way to the chair designated for him.  He glared at Aleks across the table but the young king steadfastly refused to look at him, the tiniest hint of a playful grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

 

When the meeting was adjourned, the sultan's council exited the hall and a servant clapped his hands, signaling the entrance of five veiled maidens who stood before Aleks and Thor with their heads bowed.

"My daughters," the sultan said with a proud smile.  "All skilled entertainers, all here for your enjoyment - and all _very unmarried."_  He snapped his fingers and music began playing;  the girls began to dance, their eyes the only part of their faces not hidden behind their veils, all of them focused only on the handsome young black haired king seated next to their father.

Thor leaned over and nudged his nephew with an elbow.  "What do you think of them, Aleks?  They're fine specimens of royal beauty, are they not?"  Looking to see the king's reaction, Thor immediately realized something was amiss - there was no mistaking Aleks' loopy goodnatured grin, his sparkling jade eyes full of mischief, the way his right eyebrow quirked up exactly the same way his father's did when he was amused.

None of that was in the face he was looking at.  The young sorcerer hadn't yet mastered the art of cloning himself, though he wasn't above doing it anyway to get out of boring state affairs.  This duplicate was nearly perfect, but Thor had dealt with far too many of his brother's clones to not be able to tell the difference.  His smile froze into a near snarl as the King's copy watched the girls dance, the smile on its own face almost perfect, but not quite.

 _"I'm going to kill your master when I find him,"_ Thor said under his breath, through clenched teeth behind his own fake smile while the sultan's daughters spun and whirled, doing their best to impress a lifeless illusion of the king.

 

 

_To be continued..._

 


	3. The Princesses

 

 

 

The portal opened, ripping a hole in the side of the shed as a burst of emerald light flashed across the night sky, headed straight for the scorched pile of smoldering ash that was once an outbuilding.  Climbing over the last low range of hills outside the city's walls, the two women stopped and watched the flaming bolt of energy strike the ground, sending a plume of dust and fire into the darkened sky.

"He's here."

"He's not very good at that, is he?"

Shaking her head, the younger of the two made a look of disgust.  "It seems our savior needs some polishing."   _A rough edged man-child with no mastery over his own magic.  What have they done to us?_

"He is prophesied to be a great sorcerer, greater even than his father."

"Not yet."

The older woman looked sadly at the ring of flames that were blazing out of control in the field below them.

"No, not yet."  She looked at her companion, a fond smile coming to her face as she reached up to smooth her hair in the arid wind.  "It says his true power may only manifest in the absence of purity."

"Meaning?"

"You have to fuck him."

"Lovely.  That's what I was afraid it meant."  She shot the older woman a sideways look.  "Where did you learn a word such as that?"

There was an evasive grin as she covered her mouth with her hand.  "He's not difficult to look at - "

"No, I suppose he's not.  But Loki was the handsomest man in the realm and you know what a difficult task _he_ was."

"I did that one myself, I'm quite proud of how he turned out."

The younger woman grimaced, not wanting to hear the details of The Trickster King's initiation.  She'd heard the rumors.  Seidr was a troublesome thing when it was born naturally into a person - it could manifest itself as either evil or as noble, sometimes depending entirely on the manner in which it was coaxed into activity.  They'd almost gotten to Loki too late...he was well on his way to something less than noble when they'd finally found him and set him on the right path.  Or something close to it.  There was far too much wickedness in Loki's soul for him to ever be truly noble in spirit and intent.

But Aleks was young and not yet lured to the dark ways inherent in his soul.

They would have to hurry.

 

Loki groaned in his sleep, sweat beading his brow as he unconsciously shifted to his Jotun form to cool himself.  Lyra sensed the change immediately and sat up, tugging the blankets off her husband to help him regulate his temperature.

"Sire, wake up," she said gently, laying her hands on his face.  His eyes opened and she sucked in her breath a little;  the fiery red irises always took her by surprise, even when she was expecting them.  "Wake up darling, you've gone blue."

The groan turned to a sigh and Loki turned over onto his side, his hand coming up to press against Lyra's stomach.  He could feel the baby moving, not kicking, but a gentle shift of position, like it was turning over onto its side like he had just done.  He smiled.

"I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse, being linked to our children this way," he said quietly.  He thumped her stomach with his finger and a moment later the baby thumped back.  If he closed his eyes and cleared his mind, he could hear her, deep in her warm wet cocoon.  Another girl.  She would have black hair and green eyes like his, when she chose to.  She would be a shapeshifter.

"Is Aleks misbehaving again?"

Loki pushed his hair back off his neck and felt the chill of the night air hitting his damp skin.

"He's someplace very warm."

Lyra stared at him, but didn't say anything - she knew better than to press for details when he was greedy with his words.  With the sleeve of her nightgown she mopped the sweat from his chest while he watched her with flame red eyes.

He didn't tell her his eyes were mirroring what their son was seeing.

 

"Fucking _fuck_ bloody _fucking hell!"_

Aleks stumbled out of the flames and fell on his back in the sand, laying there in aggravated resignation, staring up at the stars.  At least they were familiar this time.  He was home - or close to it.  From the looks of the houses he'd narrowly missed, he was maybe a hundred or so miles from the main city.  If he apparated he could be back in the palace and in his own bed in a few short moments, but he wasn't sure exactly where he was, and his teleportation skills weren't quite as polished as they would need to be for that long of a trip.  He would have to find another way.

But it was the middle of the night, from the looks of the sky, and he was too sapped energy-wise to even conjure a pair of pants for himself.  Out of the corner of his eye he saw the farmer whose shed he'd obliterated, standing huddled with his family, blinking disbelievingly at the wreckage and the fire and the naked man that they'd just recognized as their king.  Sighing, he got to his feet and stood as they dropped to their knees in obeisance.

"Your Majesty."

"Yes, thank you, hello.  Um...could someone possibly fetch me a pair of breeches and maybe a place to sleep for the night?"

The farmer exchanged looks with his wife, his hand flying up to cover their young daughter's eyes.

"Of course, Majesty."

 

At morning's first light, the king gently pulled his arm out from under the farmer's still-sleeping daughter and stood, stretching, to look out the open window.  The remains of the shed were still burning with that unnatural emerald and gold fire that the makeshift portals always spit out with him.  Voidflame was difficult to extinguish.  One day he would have to master his messy worldwalking, it always ended with destruction of property and less than dignified landings.

One of the many things he could do, but couldn't yet do _well._

Though his power was regenerated to full capacity, he didn't bother conjuring clothing for himself;  he simply closed his eyes and apparated to the city's edge, where he shifted to his wolf form and headed for the palace.  His mother had left word for him to check on his sisters and, perhaps even more importantly, he needed to avoid Thor.  He knew his uncle would be bent for blood after what he'd done.  Taking a shortcut through the citycenter bazaar, the wolf king ran at full speed, ignoring the cries of dismay and screams of alarm from the shopkeepers and market women as he lept over booths and ducked under tables, pausing just long enough to steal a freshly plucked chicken from a meat stall.

 

"Must I?  Truly?"

The older woman pushed her hood back, tucking a long strand of silver-blue hair behind one slightly pointed ear.  "You know the rules, Akiah.  The prophecies outweigh our comfort zones."

"It's not my comfort zone I'm worried about."

A knowing look, perhaps a little _too_ knowing.  "Do you fear falling in love with him?"

"What?  No - how ridiculous."

"He's tall and handsome and charming."

"He's _too_ tall and _too_ handsome and _too_ charming.  Meaning he's exactly like his father, and _that's_ what I'm worried about."  She noticed the confusion in the other woman's expression and sighed, rubbing her hands over her face.  They came away coated with the desert dust they'd spent all night trekking through.  "Loki was difficult.  He almost broke his own prophecy, how long did it take you to turn him?"

"A long time.  But once his Seidr grew strong enough to choose its path, it did the right thing."

"Are all the Laufeyson descendants to be made of the same bastard materials?"

"No - Loki was different.  He had the anger and hatred of betrayal and lies filling him."

Akiah shook her head.  "Not at the start, though...he didn't know who he was until he was nearly an adult."

"It was always there, whether he knew of it or not.  The lies were told and he believed them...they sat in wait for him to gain realization of the truth.  That's when they took him."

"But you saved him.  Jainah of the House of Oberon.  And I'm crawling through the desert with a legend, the Syl that put the great Loki Laufeyson on the straight and narrow."

"I guided him toward the path less overcast."

Akiah laughed.  "I love how we term things so gently.  Loki's dark path to destruction and irreconcilable chaos was 'overcast' and the bright shining path of light is what?"

"The road less dark."

Both women held straight faces until they no longer could.  "We don't deal in absolutes, my dear.  We cast just a little light into the darkness, like a beacon.  In the end it is the decision of the chosen to either pick up a torch and lighten it further, or pull the hood over their eyes and march off into the dim."

"The dim."

Jainah shrugged.  "No absolutes."

"And Aleks?"

"He has none of the blackhearted lies and dishonesty in his soul that Loki had.  Odin's death was truly a blessing to that family."

Akiah looked suspiciously at Jainah, silent for a moment before she finally allowed herself to speak her thoughts.

"Did you have anything to do with that?"

The older woman merely smiled, tugging her hood back up over her head.  "We don't deal in absolutes...always remember that, my dear."

 

Aleks loped through the palace corridors, stopping to sniff people randomly as he made his way to the nursery.  The staff were accustomed to his wolf form running wild through the hallways and paid him little mind, but he enjoyed shoving his nose into people's crotches to make them jump around avoiding him and it often drew shouts of anger from the men and dismay from the ladies.  His mother had given the servants permission to swat him if he misbehaved too atrociously, even after he became king.

Rounding the corner into the play area, he whined and lowered his head to the floor, drawing the attention of the two little girls playing near a cradle that held a third.  They squealed and ran to him, throwing their little arms around his neck, tugging at his ears and pulling his fur as he fell over on his side, letting them climb over him, hugging and petting and kissing him.

"Alright girls, let your brother up - I need to speak with him."

The princesses clambered off of their big brother and he leapt to his feet, cocking his head to one side to look at his grandmother as she entered the nursery with his other two sisters.  The oldest girl was carrying a sprig of berries and he charged at her, snatching the berries from her hand and running out onto the balcony to eat them.  The girl yelled indignantly and rushed after him.

"Give me those back you motherless cur!"

He yelped when she swatted him with her book, turning to dive at her, teeth bared and snarling.  The nursemaid returned to the nursery in time to see the scuffle and screamed, coming at them with a curtainrod that she pulled off one of the windows.

"Begging your pardon Sire, but _get off that child!"_ she shouted as she clubbed Aleks in back of the head with the heavy iron rod.  He yelped again and rolled away, shaking his head as he got unsteadily back to his feet.  Frigga had finally had enough nonsense and clapped her hands loudly.

"Everyone stop this instant!  Aleks, back into yourself.  Aliera, get your book and come back inside.  Come on, _now."_ Her tone left no room for disobedience and Aleks quickly shifted back to his man form, leaning against the balcony railing as he rubbed his head where the nursemaid had hit him.  Frigga came to him and grabbed him by his hair, tugging his head down to inspect the wound.  "You'll live.  Now get inside, Your Majesty, I need to have words with you.  And put some clothes on."

 

"But Grandmother, the negotiations went perfectly well without me.  I don't see what all the fuss is about.  My stand-in had all the same knowledge of the situation that I did, and if I have to say so, he was far better equipped to handle it than I was."

Frigga fixed him with her sternest soul-withering stare.  "Let me guess, because you were hung over?"

"Not at that point, not yet."  He grinned sheepishly, leaning over the cradle to pick up the baby that was beginning to fuss.  "But getting there."

"Aleks, you're in need of a wife, not an atrophied liver.  You should be paying better attention to your kingly duties - "  The scolding was interrupted by one of the other little girls.

"I'll marry him!" 

Aleks hefted the baby up on his shoulder, bouncing her gently as her little fist gripped a tendril of his hair.  "I can't marry you, you're my sister," he told the other one with an adoring grin.  "But when you're old enough you can marry a king from another realm if you wish.  I'll make sure you get a good one."

"That's my job, Your Highness."

Aleks closed his eyes with a groan;  that voice was not only painfully familiar, but currently bore a disconcertingly annoyed edge that he knew he'd provoked.

"Uncle Thor," he said cheerily, hoping to avoid any unpleasantness regarding the meeting with the sultan.  "So how did the negotiations go?"

"You know full well how they went.  Your clones seem to know Asgardian policy better than you do."

Aleks quirked an eyebrow at Frigga.  "See, what did I tell you?"  He turned back to Thor.  "What did you do with him?"

"He vanished right after the meeting, and something tells me you're well aware of that as well."  The angry look turned pleading.  "Aleks, the sultan had five daughters - princesses - all very lovely I might add.  It would have been a perfect opportunity for us to solidify a pact between this realm and - "

"Shhhh..."

"Don't shush me, I'm trying to do my job and you're - "

Aleks threw his hand out and Thor ducked, anticipating a bolt of magic to hurtle across the room at him - but nothing happened, and he realized with slight embarrassment that Aleks was just quieting him. The baby in his arms was snoring softly.

"Well, you're better at parenting than your father is, I will give you that."

"Papa prefers making them over taking care of them."

Thor watched closely, his annoyance draining out of him as the young king walked around the room singing quietly to his baby sister.  Aleks would become a great man, there was no doubt about that - it was born into him and every unpolished edge glinted with shining promise.  He just needed guidance and a swift kick in the pants from time to time to keep him on track.

As he watched his nephew tucking the baby back into its cradle with another of the little princesses hanging onto his leg, one thought ran roughshod through Thor's head.

_I'm getting too old for this shit._

 

 

_To be continued..._

 

 


	4. The Slip

 

 

"You're not trying."

"I _am_ trying."

"You're not trying hard enough.  Do it again."

Aleks growled, lowering his head to concentrate, summoning his strength from deep within as he blurred out the noise around him.  His long black hair fell over his face, covering his tightly closed eyes.

"Feel it build, but don't attempt to hold it.  Let it go once it has reached its peak."

The king snickered, his concentration wrecked as his thoughts went to the previous night's application of _that_ particular lesson.  His mentor sighed heavily and shook his head.

"I hope you're respecting your Seidr while you're out playing after hours, doing gods only know what with gods only know who.  Remember, pur - "

"Purity feeds power, yes I know.  Trust me, I'm keeping it in my pants.  When I _have_ pants."  The last bit was spoken quietly and Malik raised an eyebrow at the king.

"Sire, your strengths will find you.  You can do anything, _everything_...but you do none of it as well as you could.  This is where your true talents will begin to show, in the skills you master.  Your father could do everything in the books as well, but how many things did you ever actually see him do?"

Aleks thought about it for a moment.  He'd only ever seen his father transform, teleport, conjure...as well as his battlefield abilities, enhanced as they were by his magic..he was good with potions and alchemy, but they were more hobbies than frequently used skills.  "Not many."

"And why do you think that is?"

"Because he's lazy?"

The old man reached up and slapped the king in the forehead.

"No!  Because he developed certain skills to mastery level and left the rest for when they were needed.  The rest were just things he could do, but the things he excelled at, _those_ are what you saw him do."

Aleks slung his hand out, hurling a golden green bolt of light at the target.  "Why can't I just do well at everything and not bother excelling at a few?  Who says I must master only the ones that decide they want to be mastered?"

"Attempting to master everything would leave you sapped of strength.  You know how tired you get when you teleport - can you imagine feeling that way all the time?"  He turned his face away to hide his expression, and the unspoken truth along with it.  For that truth was too dangerous to be spoken, especially to one so impetuous as a son of Loki.  The truth that he very well _could_ master everything, and probably with laughable ease.

The truth that he could be _too_ powerful.

For with great power comes great chaos...Loki had proven that.  And this boy, with his heart and soul devoid of grief and anger, had more potential than even his father.

This young man could bring down the universe.

Or rule it.

"Your Seidr will only allow you to expend it on the things it is aligned to.  Those are what you must discover, and then concentrate on."

_Lies, all of it._

But Aleks wasn't paying attention...his eyes were locked to his target, his fingers sparking with golden green-tipped flame, his energy building and compounding until his hands were shaking.

"Aleks - "

...his fingers trembling, elbow drawing back slowly as if awaiting launch from a bow, his entire body taut with the effort of restraint...

"Sire, release it!"

He wasn't listening.  Malik could _hear_ the energy snapping and hissing inside him...if he didn't let it go soon it would cycle back on him, risking great damage to his nervous system.   _"Aleks turn it loose!"_

With a raging roar, the king shoved his arm forward and released the magic that had been building.  It burst from his hand like a meteor hitting the atmosphere, combusting into a fiery missile as it hurtled toward the target quicker than Malik's eyes could follow.  The target was obliterated, the magic passing through it as if it weren't even there, burning its way through the stone wall behind it and through another beyond that.  The delayed _boom_ of the shattered sound waves knocked Malik off his feet, but Aleks stood against it, leaning forward into the blast as it dissipated around him in a quickly vanishing flash of liquid light.

"You must _never_ do that again!" the old man shouted angrily, clambering back to his feet.

Aleks was standing with his head down, his eyes closed, a look of pure fury and menace etched across his face.  He looked so much like his father in that moment that Malik recoiled a little.  

"Why not?"

"Why - why _not?!"_ Staring at the young king in disbelief, he dusted himself off and slowly made his way to the charred and crumbling wall at the far end of the courtyard.  "Why not."  He sighed with resignation, turning to look back at his charge.  "How do you feel right now?"

"Like shit," Aleks grinned, obviously proud of himself even though his nerves were on fire and he could feel his molecules quivering from the stress.  It felt awful...but it felt _good._ He'd never put a bolt through the wall before.  "You saw that, right?"

"Of course I saw it.  Half the kingdom saw it, it lit the damn sky.  But you can _hurt yourself_ pulling nonsense like that, Aleks - "  He stopped, snapping his fingers to make sure the boy was paying attention.  "No showing off!  Magic isn't meant to be played with or used to impress girls."

"I hadn't thought about impressing girls with it..."

_"NO."_

Laughing, Aleks flexed his fingers, wincing at the hot throbbing ache in his joints.  Holding back that energy while it increased by the second had been painful, almost excruciating, but he'd barely felt it in his excitement at controlling that much force.  He could feel it, the sheer magnitude of it, its impatience to be set free to dissipate amongst the energy of the cosmos.  But he had held it.   _He had controlled it._

Malik might scold him for it, but he knew his father would be proud.

 

"He's holding me back," the king whined, teleporting himself around the room randomly in his agitation.  Every time Thor focused his eyes on him, he would vanish and reappear in another spot.  It was making him dizzy but he held his tongue.  "I put an energy spike through two stone walls today and all he had to say was 'no showing off'.  What good is it if I'm not meant to find out how much I can _do_ with it?"

Thor looked thoughtfully at his hands.  He really had no answer.

"And all that tripe about purity feeding power.  I asked him to show me where the ancient texts say that and he said 'it's in a forbidden volume a king may only see when he's proven himself worthy of it'."  He whirled around to face his uncle.  "Have you ever heard of that?"

Thor shook his head.  "But I am not a king, my knowledge or lack of it in such things means nothing."

Aleks' face softened and he stared at his uncle.  Thor was fiddling with his fingers, looking distinctly uncomfortable.  "You were meant to be king, weren't you?  Instead of my father."

Not saying anything, Thor looked up and smiled at his nephew.

"Why?  Why did you give him the throne instead of taking it yourself?  It was yours."

"I didn't want it."

"But why?"

Thor sighed, thinking carefully about his words before he spoke them.  "I'm a man of action, Aleks...I always have been.  I don't do well making decisions and working out strategies and telling people what to do. Sitting on a throne would never suit me.  I was born for the battlefield."

"But my father fought in battles, he was a great warrior too."

"As you are well on your way to becoming, just like him.  But it isn't your greatest strength."  Thor pointed to his head, tapping his temple lightly. "This is where your true skill lies, just as it did with your father. You're a thinker, a strategyzer, a plotter and planner.  You're five steps ahead of everyone else in the room at any given time.  Loki was the same - a genius, bored to tears perpetually waiting for everyone else to catch up.  It's why he always got into so much trouble...he would solve things and then have all this extra time in his head while others were still figuring it out. He used that time to plot mischief."   _And he had the power to bring all those plots to fruition_ he thought, though he didn't dare to say it aloud. "Malik just wants the best for you.  If he says you're going to blow yourself up playing above your level, then perhaps you should listen to him."

Aleks shook his head.  "No...that's not it.  I don't know what it is...but it's not that."

"Well, whatever it is, I'm sure you're making something bigger of it than is strictly necessary."

Neither man truly believed it, but the conversation went no further.

 

Night fell and a restlessness settled in him, like it always did.  The moon called to him, but he didn't dare try to leave the palace - Thor and Malik had decided that guards should be set at all the exits and lesser known ways out, specifically to keep the king from causing mischief beyond their ability to contain.  The legend of the Asgard Wolf, a story perpetuated by Loki's nighttime forays, was a tale whose resurrection they hoped to avoid.

But a dark primal need still pulled at him.

Shifting to his wolf form, the king padded silently down the darkened corridors, sniffing at each closed door of the servants' wing until a familiar scent pulled him back to one he'd just passed.  Whining, he pawed at the light beneath the door until he heard footsteps crossing the cold stone floor.  The door opened and he slipped inside, his head playfully tossing under the hem of the woman's nightgown as she stepped aside to let him enter. _"Your Highness,"_ she said quietly, shutting the door behind them.

 

The room was dark, save for the soft golden glow of a candle on the bedside table.  The wolf stared at it for a moment, its breath making the flame flicker and dance as the woman slipped out of her gown and sat down on the edge of the bed;  he whipped his head around when he caught her scent, salivating at the delicious aroma of her bare womanhood.  He came to her slowly, nudging his head up between her legs, letting his tongue dart out to lick her where her scent was the strongest.

A deep growl resonated in his throat and he rose up onto his back legs to rest his front paws on her knees.

"Be good, Sire," she chastised him.

There was another growl, caught somewhere between a playful snarl and a laugh as the wolf stood and morphed back into a man, completing his transformation before the sound had finished leaving his throat. He stood before her, towering over her in the dim shadows, his eyes still catching the candlelight and reflecting it like mirrors even though they had changed back to their normal color.

"Aren't I always?"

Pushing her back on the bed, Aleks crawled over her legs and stretched out on top of her, slipping his arms under her back as he planted soft feathery kisses along her collarbone.  The woman moaned, accustomed to the king's caresses but never quite getting used to the gentleness and intense sensuality of his attentions.  He always made love to her, but never had he taken her - usually he was clothed and his breeches stayed on, although she would stroke him through the cloth or sometimes push her hand inside if he allowed it.  But when he came to her as the wolf, he was always naked when he became a man again.  And though she felt him, hard and heavy against her thigh, his arousal evident - he never put himself inside her.

 _The prophecy,_ the other kitchen staff whispered among themselves, the women who had shared his bed all nodding knowingly.   _The king must remain pure._

_But what of taking a wife?_

_She must be the one._

The girl knew she wasn't the one.  But the king was in her bed, his warm strong hands gliding purposefully over her body, his soft groans and whispers caressing her ears in the darkened room as her own hands worked their way down his belly to the stiff and heated evidence of his manhood, and it was enough.  He allowed her to handle him, his hand coming down over hers to close her fingers around him, their sighs and moans mingling quietly over the candlelight as they stroked each other into bliss.

 

In the morning Aleks awoke before the girl and scooted down between her legs, spreading them with his hands as he licked her into wakefulness.  "Sire," she moaned in protest, reaching down to tangle her hands in his long dark hair.  "I have to get to the kitchens and make your breakfast!"

"I'm already having it," he murmured, his mouth buried in her soft folds.

She giggled, relaxing as he lapped at her.  "Is it the prophecy?" she asked quietly, unsure if she was allowed to speak of it.  His head came up and he cocked an eyebrow at her, a quizzical look on his face.

"Prophecy?"

"The reason why you don't take me, Sire.  The prophecy concerning your powers being dependent on..."  She looked down at him shyly.  "...your chastity."

Aleks laughed, ducking his head back between her legs again.  He gave her a nip, setting her to squealing and thrashing under his strong grip.  "Servant gossip and superstition.  I know of no prophecy."

"Then why do you refrain, Your Majesty?"

He pushed his tongue into her, slipping a finger in with it to bring a delighted moan from her throat.  He slurped at her wetness for a moment before withdrawing to lay alongside her, his head bending to her breast to suckle at her nipples.  "Because I'm channeling all my energies into developing my skills," he murmured in between switching from breast to breast.  "My seidr, it's...tricky.  I want to master it but it takes a lot out of me."

The girl nodded, confused but listening even though the king's mouth was driving her insane.  His hand had snaked its way back down between her legs and his fingers were plundering her openings, sliding up to rub at that tender sensitive little spot he was so skilled at manipulating, bringing her dangerously close to release before backing off to tease her folds again.  His breathing was growing erratic against her breasts and he finally let go of her nipple, moving his mouth to her ear to whisper to her in that deep, seductive voice that she loved so much.

"Turn over, darling."

She did as she was told, turning so that her back was to him, his arms enveloping her, hands coming up to cup and fondle her breasts as he positioned himself behind her, slipping his cock in between her slickened thighs.  "Keep them tight together," he instructed gently, and she obeyed, as always, arching her back as he thrust against her.

She knew she wasn't the one...but this was more than good enough.

 

"What's this about a prophecy?"

The old man jumped, startled.  The young king moved like a cat sometimes, entering rooms unnoticed, listening and watching without being seen. He had the gift of invisibility when he chose to use it, but his stealthy demeanor rendered it mostly unnecessary unless he truly needed to be unseen.

"Your Highness, I didn't see you come in.  Have a seat."

"I'd rather stand, I'm not staying - I've a swordplay lesson with Thor this morning."

An approving nod.  "Ah yes, honing those battlefield skills.  Always good."

Aleks leaned against the doorframe, stretching his back;  his early morning extracurricular activities had barely finished before he'd been summoned.  But he had no interest in discussing matters of the throne, not when the kitchen maid's words were still poking at his brain.  "The prophecy, Malik.  The servants all seem to know of it, why don't I?"

Malik's brow furrowed when he turned to look at the king.  "Because it is superstition and gossip, that's all."  He waved a hand dismissively, a gesture that Aleks knew well.  It meant nothing more would be said of it.  He narrowed his eyes - it hadn't missed his attention that he himself had spoken those very same words that morning, in the scullery maid's chambers.

_Interesting._

He would have to ask around to some of his favorite servants and find out if he was being watched.  When his father's reign had ended, so had the full autonomy of the king - something he understood and agreed with, partly because it relieved him of a large portion of the burden of rulership, but also because of the fear his father's rule had inspired in the people.  He bore no secret desire to be that sort of king.

And if he _was_ being watched...well, this could lend itself to a bit of fun.

 

The clash of swords rang through the sparring arena, punctuated by the grunts and taunting remarks of the two men scrabbling in the dirt.  Thor looked up from where he lay, on his back on the ground, blinded momentarily by the bright sunlight shining around the king's head above him. And then Aleks moved his head, blocking the sun so that Thor could see him.  The familiar loopy grin caught the big man off guard and he lowered his sword from the king's neck, thinking the round was over.

Aleks took advantage of the unguarded moment and brought his own sword around, so quickly that Thor was barely able to block it.  Bringing a leg up to knock him off balance, Thor sent him flying several feet with a rough landing in the dirt.  A pair of soldiers in the stands laughed until Aleks rolled to his feet and spun, summoning his sword back to his hand and coming at Thor in an attack leap that couldn't be fought off.  Thor shouted the stop command and Aleks froze, his knee in his uncle's chest, his sword hovering just inches above his head.  His fierce expression melted into a broad grin.

"I want to go to Midgard."

Thor scowled, his eyes still on the blade hanging over his skull.

"You what?"

"I want to go to Midgard.  What can you tell me about it?"  Aleks stood, straddling the vanquished warrior, hand outstretched to help him up.

Thor's eyes narrowed, falling to the king's hand suspiciously.  "Why do you want to go to Midgard?"

"Because I've been to the eight other realms, but for some reason I can't seem to slip past the barrier to Earth."  He wiggled his fingers impatiently in Thor's face.  "Why is that?"

"Because more than just the barrier have been put into place to prevent just such a thing."  He finally accepted Aleks' proffered hand and pulled himself up, dusting off his breeches and tunic.

"And why?"

"Because your father went to Midgard and as a result we are no longer welcome!"

Thor's sword swung past Aleks' head, narrowly missing his ear as the king ducked to avoid the blow.

"Maybe I can mend relations with them - "

"I wouldn't if I were you."  Another lunging slash, bringing Thor's heavy thick-bladed weapon uncomfortably close to his shoulder.

"Why not?  What did he do?"

"Do you remember the legend of the Siege of New York?"

"Of course, it was part of the history I was taught in school."

"That was your father."

"Really!"  He stopped parrying and let his sword tip drop to the ground.  "That was him?"

"During one of his many bouts of madness.  Get that sword up!"

Aleks shook his head, dropping his weapon in the dirt.  "Lesson's over, Uncle."

"Where are you going?"

"To mend relations with Midgard, of course."  The king's mischievous smile sent a shiver up Thor's spine...it was more than just a little too much like Loki's most familiar cheshire grin.  The one Thor knew too well...the one he wore when he was about to do something really _really_ troublesome.

"Why do I feel like I should be placing you under house arrest?"

Aleks laughed as he walked away, one hand over his head shooting a bolt of white hot light toward the two soldiers in the stands that had laughed at him.  They dove for cover, cursing and stomping to put out the flames that suddenly erupted from the bench they'd been sitting on.

"Probably because that's _exactly_ what you should be doing."

 

Slipping into the stables, he made his way past the stalls, petting each of the horses as he went by;  they all tried to get the apple he had tucked into his pocket, but he shooed away the ones that got too close to stealing it.  It was his brother's favorite, one of the black-skinned apples from the family's private orchards.

"Ahh, hello brother," he said softly once he found him.  Sleipnir tossed his glossy black mane, curling his lips back in greeting as Aleks petted him lovingly.  Since Odin's death the steed had been put out to pasture so he could run free, but every morning he came to the stables to be groomed and fed.  "Good boy...I brought you your favorite."  Taking the apple from his pocket, he rubbed it on his tunic to polish it. The horse eyed him questioningly as the king closed his eyes and began speaking to him, not with words, but with his thoughts.  He was one of the few who could communicate with him this way.

_What do you need of me, brother?_

_I want to go to a realm that's been closed off to me...do you think you can get me past a few of Heimdall's best booby traps?_

Sleipnir threw his head back, whinnying loudly.   _I thought you had a difficult task for me, young one.  Give me that apple and I'll think about it._

Aleks handed the apple over, letting his brother bite his fingers as he held it for him.

_Do this for me and I'll see to it you're allowed to graze in the orchard every afternoon._

The worldwalker huffed in contemplation, stomping one of his eight hooves into the soft dirt of his stall as he thought about it.  

 _Hmm...it's been a long time since I've been on an adventure.  Two kings ago, I believe._ He chewed the last of the apple and nudged his nose into Aleks' neck. _When do we leave?_

 

 

To be continued...

 

 


	5. The Two

 

 

"This is where I leave you brother - you'll be safe here."  Aleks petted Sleipnir's neck and gave him a push toward the mouth of the box canyon that opened behind them.  "Nobody will see you, this place is secluded and you can hide in there.  If anyone does see you, go on back to Asgard without me."

The horse nodded his agreement - there was no more telepathic communication between them from this point, Aleks needed his energy to get where he was going.  Giving his little brother one last glance, he trotted off toward the canyon to explore.

Aleks looked around, not sure where to go.  There was a sprawling city in the distance, but he had no idea where he would come out if he apparated to it - a risky venture at best, a messy disaster at worst.  He could smell the ocean, the salty sea breeze blowing in off the water, carrying with it the myriad smells of a bustling metropolis.  

Shrugging, he closed his eyes and vanished.

 

"Does anyone know where the king is?"

Heimdall sighed, rubbing his eyes with his fingers.  He was off duty but he'd known someone was bound to come asking after the troublesome boy.  He hadn't expected it to be the High Mistress of the Council, however.  "He's gone traipsing among the realms again, Mistress."

"We need him."

"Yes, Mistress."

Setting his drink down on the table, the Gatekeeper laid his head on the ancient wood, trying to think how best to handle this situation.  The king wasn't just running around this time, treating the seven open realms as his personal playground like he was inclined to do when bored.  This time he'd crossed the forbidden boundary and gone to Midgard.  Right past his safeties and all the blockades he'd put into place, as if they weren't even there.

Leave it to Loki's spawn to disregard every damn rule anyone anywhere ever thought of enforcing.

Picking his helm up from the table, Heimdall stood, nodding to the barkeep as he turned to leave.  He wasn't looking forward to this.  He always had a very difficult time finding the king - ever since the boy had been born, his ability to perceive the presence of every soul in the nine realms had been altered.  He could now see every soul in the nine realms...minus one.  Aleks had never been visible to him, although he could sense his existence.  He just couldn't _see_ him.

 _Sorcerer trickery._  He was as bad as his father, if not worse - at least he'd always been able to see Loki, when Loki didn't mind being seen.

Returning to the Bifrost gate, he raised his eyes to the star soaked skies and began looking.

 

Jainah and Akiah broke camp, stationing themselves at the city's outskirts, far enough away to see the palace but remain undetected by scouts.

"Their gatekeeper - "

"He can't see us.  The same charm over Lokison is over us as well."

A look of curiosity crossed Akiah's face.  "Did we put it on him?"

"More or less.  Some of it came naturally to him, we just helped a little."

"Just like we're going to 'help a little' with his powers."

The older woman gave her apprentice a sly smile.  "We don't interfere with the natural course of things - life, history, the future.  But we do help things along the path they need to go."

"Yes, you've been reminding me that _we don't deal in absolutes_ ever since we started this journey."

"That's right."

"So we don't make things happen."

"That's right."

"We just _help_ them happen."

"That's right."

The younger woman sat back against a smooth stone, staring absently at the dagger in her hands.  She'd been using it to open seed pods to eat and suddenly found the incongruous range of its varied uses somewhat disturbing.  The last time she'd used it had been to slit a man's throat.  "Tell me about his father."

"Loki?"  Jainah stopped folding her sleep pallet and Akiah thought she caught, for just a moment, the barest glimpse of a contented smile.

"Yes, Loki."  She threw a shelled pod at her.  "Did you love him?"

"What an odd question.  Of course I didn't love him, no more than you'll love Aleks.  We're doing our jobs, no more and no less."

"You're lying."

A chuckle, followed by that same fleeting glimpse of a smile again.  "Alright, maybe I was a _little_ bit enamored of him...remember, he was already far removed from purity by the time we found him.  He was a man, he knew what he was doing - there was nothing for him to learn from me as far as the ways of the physical denouement.  All I had to do was let my Aesa mix with his Seidr and hope that it cleansed enough of the blackness from his spirit to prevent..."  Her voice suddenly stopped and Akiah leaned forward, waiting to hear the rest.

"To prevent what?"

Hurriedly returning to folding her pallet, she shrugged, downplaying what she was about to say.  

"Oh, just a little situation known throughout the universe as Ragnarok."

 

The whirling rush of winds inside his skull finally abated and Aleks became aware of his surroundings, slowly, one sense at a time.  The feel of hard dirt beneath his knees and palms, the sound of panting and the scrabbling of hurried motion, the taste of dust on his lips, the smell of grass and fur and...animal.  No, not just animal. _Wolf._

Opening his eyes, his last sense verified the familiar scent.  He was surrounded by wolves.

Shifting quickly, he took his wolf form and backed away, head and shoulders low to acknowledge his lack of status with this group, watching them closely with keen eyes.  He was bigger than they were, even the alpha that he could smell nearest him, but it was safer to play meek than to try taking on an entire unfamiliar pack at once...especially while he was weak from the longest non-portal assisted teleport he'd ever successfully accomplished.  He wasn't strong enough to assert the dominance that he knew he could easily have over them at full power.  Despite his larger size, this many against him alone...he'd be shredded in seconds.  And it could take hours for him to be strong enough to fight.

He sat down, head still low to the ground, and waited.

 

Loki was having that pain again, the one that told him one of his offspring was up to trickery or treachery or a particularly troublesome combination of the two.  Lyra was standing behind him, brushing his hair with her fingers in an attempt to calm him.  This time was different - Loki was not only agitated by the sensory overload, he'd actually been weakened by it.

"Is it Aleks?" she asked, pulling his head back to rest it against her stomach.  He laughed a little when he felt the baby kicking the back of his head.

"Isn't it always?"

"Well, no - there was that time Adela turned her nursemaid into a larva because she wanted to see her become a butterfly."

Loki chuckled, a wide grin of pride splitting his face.  "My girl."

"You knew she was crying because your mother was scolding her and you wanted to go home right that moment to tell her it was a beautiful bit of work.  And what about the time when Aleira set that boy's head on fire in her chemistry class because he made fun of her height?  You definitely sensed that, you laughed for the rest of the day over it."

"Have I mentioned lately how proud I am of our daughters?"

"You're a terrible influence on them.  You find great amusement in everything they do, no matter how improper."

"That's not true - I was angry when...which one is the second oldest?"

Lyra pulled his hair hard.  "Andra."

"Yes, that one.  The time she cursed the water tanks everywhere except in the palace and the entire city had piranha in their bathtubs."

"You weren't angry Loki, you scolded her to appease me and the moment I turned my back you gave her a thumbs-up."

"What makes you think that?"

"There was a mirror on the wall behind you."

Another laugh, and then the former king sighed heavily.  "Well...it's been mostly Aleks of late, and he's giving me a colossal headache.  He worldwalked again, only this time I sensed more than just one pair of feet doing the walking."

Lyra stopped massaging his head and bit her lip.  "He took someone with him?"

"Apparently.  Or _four_ someones, by the number of footfalls I heard in my dreams last night."

Her eyes went wide as she stared at her husband, realization dawning on her as to what it meant.  "He's taken Sleipnir?"

"I think so.  Which can only mean one thing.  There's just one place he can't get to on his own."  He laid his head back on the back of the chair, looking at Lyra upside down.  "He's gone to Midgard."

 

The girl watched from the gate, still not believing what she'd just seen - but she _had_ seen it, with her own eyes, and she wasn't in the habit of doubting things when she was looking directly at them.

_This happened._

A man had appeared in the wolf paddock, from nowhere...dropped to his hands and knees  _and turned into a wolf._ Right in front of her.  And now he was crouched in the corner, golden green eyes watching cautiously as the pack tried to sort out what they should do about him.

Sitting down in the dirt, she decided to wait this out.  Either the other wolves would attack him, or they would accept him and leave him alone.  She was curious to see which it would be...quietly pulling out her cellphone and dialing, she waited till a familiar voice said hello from the other end, speaking loudly over the background noise of people talking.

"Hey dad."  She kept her voice low, not wanting to spook the wolves into any rash decisions.  "I'm going to be late tonight - we've got a new wolf and it's kinda iffy right now how the introductions are going to go, so I have to stay and supervise.  I'll eat here so tell mom not to cook me anything."

The voice at the other end told her to be careful and she promised she would;  as she hung up, she noticed the new wolf was looking at her, its head tilted to one side, listening.  It hadn't seen her until she'd started talking, its attention completely monopolized by the other wolves that were now sitting in a semicircle around him, watching him closely.

"Hi," the girl said cheerily, waving as she tucked her phone back into her pocket.  "I'm just going to sit here and watch, you go on with whatever it is you're planning to do...but I have to warn you, that one to your left is the alpha and he is _not_ a nice guy.  I'd keep my eyes on him if I were you."

It didn't escape her notice that the new wolf immediately looked to its left, at the alpha.   _He understands me.  Good._

"Or you could walk over here to the gate and, you know, change back into the guy I saw before, and I'll let you out.  Your call."

He stared at her, debating what to do.

"I'm Cara, by the way.  Those are my wolves you're pissing off."

 

 

_To be continued..._

 

 

A Portrait of The Wolf King:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very special thanks to Horns-Of-Mischief at tumblr for this beautiful rendition of The King :)


	6. Abra

 

 

Staring hard at the alpha, never breaking eye contact, Aleks considered his options.  He could wait until his strength was up enough to give him a fighting chance and stand his ground against the pack, relying on his superior size to give him the upper hand, or he could make a break for the fence on the assumption that he'd be able to clear it.  He'd jumped over higher barriers before, though the nasty looking barbed wire twisted across the top made him nervous - a simple miscalculation could end in a ripped up belly, or worse.  Out of the corner of his eye he could still see the girl, sitting patiently outside the gate, watching him.

She was willing to let him out if he changed back into his man form.  She'd obviously seen him change in the first place if she knew he could do it, so what would be the problem with just letting her see him do it again?

 _The Midgardians see magic as mysticism, not science.  It scares them, they look upon it with an untrusting eye._  Thor had warned him long ago of the closed minds that resided in this closed realm.  But the girl didn't act like she was scared of him.  Curious, perhaps.  But not afraid.

Gaze still locked to the alpha, he whined a little to make sure the girl was paying attention before rising;  the others took it as a sign of aggression and assumed their attack positions, but Aleks suddenly bolted, leaping over the smaller female to the right and heading for the gate at top speed.  He saw the girl stand up hurriedly and move to the gate, but she wasn't opening it.

_Open it open it open it!!_

The other wolves had gotten over the surprise of his sudden retreat and were close behind him...he realized he had no telepathy here and no matter how much he tried to communicate with the girl or the animals, none of them were going to hear him.  But the human's hand was on the latch and she was yelling something.

_"Change back.  Now!"_

He had no choice but to pass the gate and keep going - the pack was bearing down on him, their snarls and angry yipping barks so close behind him that he didn't dare look over his shoulder to check.  He made another lap around the smaller enclosure area, not daring to break out into the larger compound and away from the potential safety of the gate, still shouting inside his head.

_Open it!!_

_"Change back!"_

Another lap, skidding in the loose dirt and slamming into the fence when he turned the corner, the other wolves catching up with their smaller size and singleminded intent - and his strength was fading, he could feel the fatigue overtaking him.  Soon he wouldn't _have_ enough in him to change back, and even less with which to fight his way out.  The girl wasn't going to budge.

_Dammit._

One of the larger males had gotten smart and cut across the open area in the middle, getting its jaws around one of his back legs just enough to send him sprawling.  He rolled to his feet without stopping and cut left, making a beeline for the gate wondering blindly if he could crash through it with enough speed.

_Open it...please open it..._

"Change back!"

Less than ten yards from the gate and she still hadn't unlatched it, but he knew he wasn't going to last another lap.  He turned to take a snarling bite at the male closest behind him and then made his decision.

He was a few short feet from the gate when he morphed, standing to full height as he grabbed the fence, his face just inches from hers as he snarled _"Open it!!"_

The girl yanked the gate open and he fell through it onto the ground at her feet;  she slammed it shut just as the other wolves reached the fence and they crashed into it, yelping and snapping at him through the links.

He scrambled away from the enclosure, yelling at the wolves angrily before turning his ire to the girl that was now looking down at him with an amused fascination.

_"You took your fucking time!"_

"I told you all you had to do was change back!"

"What the - _why?!"_

"Because I wanted to see you do it!"

He stared at her, getting to his feet quickly, his scowl caught somewhere between disbelief and outright anger.  His ankle was throbbing and he looked down to see blood pooling where he stood.

"Shit."

"It's okay, I have medical supplies in the office."

"I don't need your medical supplies," he said churlishly, looking around for a place to sit.  He hobbled over to one of the natural rock formations that dotted the hillside and sat, propping his foot up on his knee. The girl watched him, not seeming terribly impressed by what she'd seen so far.

"You can go from man to wolf and back to man but you can't conjure a pair of Hanes?"

"Hmm?"  He wasn't paying attention, inspecting his injury and willing his sluggish seidr to kick in.  She gestured in his general direction.

"You're naked."

"Oh - yes."  He looked down, then gave her a contrite look.  "Sorry, something I'm working on.  Give me a little time to recover first."

"Yeah, no problem, take your time."  She didn't avert her eyes or seem the least bit shocked or scandalized by his nakedness, nor by the fact that she'd just witnessed something seemingly supernatural.  "Who are you, anyway?  Or would the more appropriate question be  _what_ are you."  When he didn't answer, she prodded him a little, pointing to herself.  "You may not remember since you were under duress at the time, but I'm Cara.  Works here.  Looks after the wolves."

"I'm King of Asgard, Ruler of the Nine Realms."

Cara raised an eyebrow.  "Fancy.  Besides all that - you have a name, right?  Most people do, even aliens."

"Oh...um, yes.  It's Aleks."  He cocked his head and looked at her questioningly.  "Aliens?"

She eyed him curiously for a long moment, then sat down next to him and inspected his ankle.  It looked bad and was bleeding copiously, the flesh torn and ragged where the alpha's teeth had ripped through muscle.  "You're lucky he didn't do worse," she said, pulling off her outer shirt to wrap around the wound.  "I've seen him shred small animals that stumble into the enclosure until you can't even tell what they were.  And yeah, aliens, people not from this planet.  That's where you came from, isn't it - another planet?  Because I've never seen a human do that."

Her hand stopped just as she was about to touch him, her eyebrows going up again in surprise when she saw the injury closing.  After a few moments it was gone, leaving only the fresh blood that had seeped from it on the now healed skin.  She looked up at him without speaking.

Aleks shrugged, grinning innocently.  A quick wave of his hand rendered him clothed again, in a shirt and pants similar to what the girl was wearing.  He thought for a moment about what he should do...she wasn't sounding any alarms and she didn't seem to recognize him, despite his uncanny resemblance to the _last_ alien to visit this realm.  He stood up, testing his newly healed ankle, satisfied when he felt no discomfort as it took his weight.  Glancing back at the wolves that were still at the fence watching him with hungry eyes, he made the second major unwise decision since his bumpy arrival.

"So...Cara.  Take me to your leader?"

 

"Are you going after him?"

"To Midgard?  You're joking, right?"  Loki stared at Lyra, an incredulous look of half horror and half amusement freezing his handsome face into a comical grimace.  "You know what they'd do to me if I ever deigned to set foot on their godforsaken planet again, don't you?   _FURY,_ that's what they'd do to me.  He was so pissed off that he had to hand me over last time, this time there would be no extradition. Castration, maybe, torture and a lifetime of trying to figure out _do I look at the eye or do I look at the patch,_  weekend conjugal visits from that hulking green monster - "

"Loki, Loki...shhhh...be still."

Calming instantly, the God of Chaos rubbed at his back, frowning in discomfort.  "At least this time he's just being a pain in my backside, instead of through my left testicle like usual.  Maybe that's the one the cursed seed came from that made that little - "

_"Loki."_

He sighed, giving his wife a sideways glare that was only half bad tempered.

"You realize, don't you, that you always stick up for him regardless of what he's doing?  He could be setting asteroids on fire and launching them at the other eight realms and you'd still be telling me to calm down."

"He's you made over, darling."  Reaching up to stroke his hair, Lyra resorted to the little soothing habits that never failed to settle the ire out of him.  "Are you sure this isn't just your self loathing rearing its ugly head?"

With a sigh, he had to nod his acknowledgement, though he did so begrudgingly.  "Are we sure the universe _needs_ another me?"

"The universe didn't need _you,_ remember?  And if I recall correctly, there are certain parts of it that wish they'd never met you."

Loki broke into a wide grin, happy mischief sparkling in his eyes.  "True.  And they'll never forget me, either."

Lyra smiled, settling into her husband's lap.  "No, they certainly won't."

 

"Tell me again."

"Akiah - "

"You want me to do it right, don't you?  So tell me again.  From the beginning, every word."

Jainah sighed and swatted at the pile of leaves under her head, reforming them into some semblance of a pillow before tossing her head back onto it again.  Half the leaves billowed out around her, but she ignored it as she began reciting the words, pausing after every fourth word to allow Akiah to repeat them.  The words that would release the Wolf King's magic, tuning his powers toward nobility and honor rather than treachery and ruthlessness.  It was long and tedious, but essential, and reciting them perfectly and without mistake was absolutely vital.

She was beginning to doze as the words rolled off her tongue, memory bringing them out of habit even though her mind was slipping out of consciousness, when a sudden change in the wording from her companion woke her with a start.

"But Loki turned aside," the younger woman interrupted, stopping the recitation mid-word.

"I hope you don't do that when you're with him," Jainah scolded, glaring at her.  "If you break a word you break his magic, and you break _him._  Remember that."

"Yes, I know...but he did, Loki turned aside even though you guided him."

The older woman scowled, sitting up to shoot a nasty look at her apprentice.  "No, that's not what happened.  Loki didn't turn aside, he was _dragged_ aside.  His mind was not his own, his power and will were broken and twisted and finally used against him as much as against everyone else."  There was a sad sound from her throat, but she coughed into her hand to cover it...there was no time, nor need, for sentiment where the memory of Loki was concerned.  "He was lost, and those that found him also found a purpose for him.  Their own purpose."   She shook her head decisively.  "His actions weren't his own.  But it could have been far worse, and it _would_ have been had he not had the strength of spirit I gave him."

"Will Aleks have the same tendency?  To be used for wicked intent?"

"No...Aleks has none of the bitterness in his heart that Loki had.  Loki was unloved, at least in his own perception of himself.  Without love, a soul withers, it seeks something else to latch onto to sustain itself. Aleks has always known cherishment so he will seek no substitute."  She closed her eyes, the sentiment seeping in despite her best efforts to hold it back, bringing with it a worrisome dread that bled over into her thoughts about the boy king. "Though he could be used as a weapon just as easily if someone were to gain complete control over his mind by another means."  Shaking a finger at the younger woman, she turned over on her side to try, finally, to sleep.  "That's where you come in.  So finish reciting those words until they're more a part of you than your own soul."

Akiah didn't notice the shudder that washed over Jainah's body after she'd spoken;  she was busy doing as she was told, reciting the words, absorbing them into herself so she could let them seep into him when the time came.  She would obey, making them more a part of her than her own soul, as she was instructed.

A soul that she would give to Aleks, so that his own would be twice as strong, so that he could resist the alluring pull of the darkness when it showed its face as a pretty, sparkling light.

Jainah closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep, refusing to think of it.

 

"Where is the king, if I might ask?"

Thor avoided the chancellor's gaze, struggling to keep the look of contrition off his face as he scrambled to find an excuse for Aleks' absence from the proceedings.  "He is...unwell, Lord Chancellor."

"Unwell?"

_Unwell as in he's going to be dead when I get my hands on him._

"Yes, unwell."

"I suggest you get him well and get him back on that throne.  The most important nobles in the five kingdoms have brought their best prospects for his perusal - the least he could do is be present, maybe even pretend to be interested."  He turned to leave, shaking his head in exasperation.  "At this rate Asgard will never have another queen."

A retort stopped halfway out of Thor's mouth and he bit it back, nodding with a pleasant smile instead.  "Yes, Lord Chancellor."

The man paused on his way out of the counseling chamber, turning to give Thor a conspiratorial smile.  "You did quite a respectable job finding a wife for your brother, as I recall...perhaps your unparalleled skills could be called upon again in the service of your nephew."

The God of Thunder nodded again.  He realized he was doing that a lot, but he trusted his nod more than he trusted his words.

_Norns save us all._

 

"How did you get here?"

"My brother brought me."

"Does he drive a space ship?"

"A what?"  Aleks looked around, exploring the observation shed with a keen interest, reading the charts on the wolves and touching everything.  Cara watched him with amusement and an intensely keen interest of her own.

"A space ship.  The usual mode of travel between planets."  She cocked an eyebrow at him.  "We did establish you're not from here, correct?"

"Oh - yes, yes we did," he replied, distracted.  A pair of binoculars had captured his attention and he was peering through them at a bird that had landed on the fence just outside the window.  Cara took out her phone and snapped a picture of him, scrolling back through the others she'd taken, looking closely at the ones of the giant wolf with fur the same color as this man's hair.  Her brain told her there was no way it had happened, but her eyes begged to differ.  That was _not_ one of the zoo's wolves, and she had watched it stand up and turn into the guy that was now tying his long black hair into a knot at the back of his neck with one of her scrunchies.

Impossible or not, there he was.

"Look, I'm on baby duty tonight, my folks want to do the whole date-night thing, so we really need to wrap this up."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning you need to hurry up and buy my silence and then scoot your royal self on out of here."

He stared, not comprehending.

"I'm fairly certain your intention is to keep your presence here on the hush-hush, am I right?  I mean you didn't exactly announce your arrival with a press conference on the front lawn of the White House, you landed bare ass naked in a wolf pen behind the zoo."

"Um...yes...?"

"So tell me how you got here.  Where's your brother?  You know, the pilot."

"Oh, no, he's not a pilot, he's a worldwalker.  I am too, but it took both of us to get here, this realm's been closed off."

"Okay, worldwalkers, that sounds cool."  She nodded.   _Why not?_  "So where is he?"

"I left him in the canyons beyond the city."

Alarm lit her face.  "You left your brother in the canyons?  Alone?"

"Yes - should I not have?"

She thought for a moment, a sly look creeping into her grin.  "Take me to him."

 

Cara looked over at her passenger as he climbed out of the truck and stood silently in the settling dust, either listening or sniffing the air, it wasn't clear which - until finally he began whistling, a slow trilling that carried on the still wind and echoed through the nearby box canyon.  Within moments a huge black stallion trotted to the entrance and raised its head to look at them.

"Where is he?" she asked, waiting to see if someone was going to step out from behind the horse.  Aleks smiled a broad smile as Sleipnir came trotting over, stopping a safe distance away from them to eye the stranger suspiciously.

"Oh my god... _that's_ your brother?"

Aleks nodded.

"He's a horse."

"Yes."

"He has - "  She did a quick count, then did it again.   _"Eight legs."_

"Yes, he does."

Staring at the magnificent animal, her expression changed from disbelief to fascination.  "Can he change?  Like you did, with the wolf thing?"

"No, I'm afraid not.  He's really a horse."

"How did you get a horse for a brother?"

"My father - it's a really long story that I'd just as soon not go into."

There was a long pause, then the girl grinned wickedly.  "Give me a ride on him and I'll keep my mouth shut about both of you."

Aleks' mouth dropped open at the thought of his brother being used for entertainment.  "I can't just give you a ride on him, he's a sentient being - you have to ask his permission."

"Okay," Cara shrugged, heading toward the horse as she glanced back at Aleks over her shoulder.  "Does he understand me?"

"Yes, probably.  But he can't talk back."

"Because he's a horse, yeah I figured."  She approached the steed slowly, hand outstretched to show her lack of aggression.  "Hey big fella - "

Sleipnir eyed her suspiciously for a moment, then rared his head back and snorted.  Aleks stepped quickly between them, reaching up to pet the horse's silky black mane.

"Shhhh, it's alright brother, it's okay...she's a friend."  He slipped his arm around Sleipnir's neck and brought his head down so he could speak into his ear.  "She'll keep us a secret, but she wants something in return."  He lowered his voice, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible, knowing his request was going to be taken - rightfully - as an insult.  Sleipnir was royalty and he knew the mortals of this realm were beneath him. "Would you be willing to allow her to ride on your back?"

There was an indignant whinny as he pawed the ground with two hooves, skipping sideways to pull away from Aleks as if he was going to run away.  But he stopped and looked at the human, giving her a hard stare with a baleful eye - Sleipnir was a good judge of character, even with mortals, and the female seemed to have no guile.

After a long moment, he tossed his head, stepping toward her and kneeling so she could climb onto his back.

 

 

_To be continued..._

 


	7. Cadabra

 

 

"My dad has this book...I think you're in it."

Aleks looked at the girl sideways, a slow grin breaking across his face.  "Is it Norse mythology?"

"Yeah."

He nodded, his grin taking on a wry twist.  "That would be my father and uncle, and probably my grandfather and some of my siblings - I was born after they paid the visit that inspired the books."

"So it's all true then - but you're not Loki?"

"No...he's my father.  I'm one of many sons.  And _truth_ is sort of loosely relative when it comes to mythology...it's also sort of loosely relative when it comes to my father."

She thought for a moment, staring at his face, watching for any tells he might have.  Anything to disprove what she'd seen, to say this was all just...something.  Not reality.  But so far there didn't seem to be the slightest bit of deceit in him.  Wasn't his father the god of lies? _The apple might not fall far from the tree, but apparently it rolls._

"Fenrir the wolf?  Is he really a giant wolf, or is that a metaphor?  He's one of your brothers, right?"

"Half brother.  We're not close, the last time I was near him he tried to eat me.  Failing that, he hiked a leg and pissed on my head."

"No wonder dad likes him, they share a mutual habit of pissing on people they don't like."  Aleks frowned in confusion so she just hurried past it, not really wanting to elaborate.  Tom Heyworth on a long night of Jagermeister wasn't a tale for polite company or just-met friends.  "Long ugly story.  He's actually got a tattoo of Fenrir on his leg though.  Sort of a hero/I-relate-to-this-guy kind of thing."

Aleks wasn't sure what to say, so he just nodded.  He'd always been a bit wary of Fenrir...even Loki had barely been able to call him off when he decided the young princeling would make a good chew toy.  This girl's father idolized the monstrous lout?   _Wonderful._

"So you're just...aliens...and the mythologies are the primitive locals' interpretation of who you guys were and what you did?  Am I getting this right?"

"Basically, yes."  He laughed a little as Sleipnir ran past them, spraying them with dust.  "Sort of twisted history recorded by a bunch of drunk vikings.  My father and some of the others came here, messed around, got into trouble, then left the ancient indigenous people to figure out what the hell just happened.  Stories were passed down generation by generation until it became what's in the books."

"That is so cool."  She took the truck keys from his hands and tucked them safely into the pocket of her jeans.  "But why are you here?  It's not time for a new mythology is it?"

"Just killing time.  I'm meant to take a wife soon and I thought - "

"You're joyriding on a stag weekend with your brother."

He grinned, green eyes sparkling as Sleip trotted past them again, the horse whispering rude things to him through their telepathic link.  He picked up a smooth stone and threw it, tagging his brother on the hindquarters and making him snort.  "Yeah...something of the sort."

 

Thor made his way to the observatory, at more of a leisurely amble than a determined stalk.  These days he moved a little slower than he used to, and he found himself squinting to see things clearly - though it didn't really help as much as it succeeded in making him look like a cranky old man.  Loki had offered to try some healing magic on his creaky knees and failing eyesight, but pride, as always, made Thor push him through a wall in an outburst of offended outrage.

He was thinking more and more about considering it in recent days, though.  But he doubted Loki would want to come back to Asgard just to do him a favor.

Heimdall looked up, his usual stoic gaze betraying only the slightest bit of happiness in seeing the oldest son of his oldest friend.

"If you're looking for our King - "

"Aren't I always?"

The gatekeeper shook his head.  "I've spent the last two days and nights searching for him.  He's gone beyond the barriers.  I cannot see him."

Thor nodded;  he knew this would be the news.  "No doubt Loki has lent him some enchantment as well, something to hide him when he wants to be unseen."

"No doubt."

"What about _him?_  Can you see Loki and Lyra?"

Heimdall frowned, shaking his head.  "They're moving around so much it's making me seasick.  But I'm sensing the near completeness of another soul."

"Lyra's baby.  It should be born soon."

"Yes.  Another little trickster to give us grief.  Did you know two of their girls have already mastered cloning themselves so well that their duplicates appear as separate entities to me?  Artificial souls...it's a travesty.  That family is dangerous."

Thor grinned - he had been fooled by his nieces' duplication games more than once.  "They're children, Heimdall.  It's harmless fun."

The ancient keeper shook his head slowly, his burning eyes cast to the marble floor as a derisive laugh roiled in his throat.

 _"Nothing_ is harmless when it comes to the line of Lokison."

 

"Shit...I promised my folks I'd be home by six so they can go out."  Cara glanced at her watch and slid down off the tailgate.  "They've been so busy having babies they haven't really done anything else in a while."

"They sound like my parents."  Aleks whistled Sleipnir over to tell him they were leaving, instructing him to stay in the box canyon overnight, noticing after a moment that Cara was eyeing him with obvious intent.  "What?"

"You have a lot of little brothers and sisters?"

"Sisters, yes."  He patted his big brother's nose and watched as he trotted away.

"So you're good with kids?"

"I am, actually."

"Good, you're hired."

"Hired?  To do what?"

"Help me with my sisters.  The second part of our deal."  She headed for the cab of the truck, motioning for him to get in.

"I wasn't aware there _was_ a second part - "

"And I wasn't aware I could keep my mouth shut about eight-legged horses and Norse gods being in places they aren't supposed to be."

Aleks sighed, narrowing his eyes in a mock show of exasperation that wasn't quite convincing to either of them.

_I like her._

 

"When I said take me to your leader, this wasn't really what I meant."  The king hefted a baby up onto his shoulder, bouncing her while he rubbed her back.  "Which one is this?"

"That's Layla."

"Layla.  Hello sweet thing, you're a doll aren't you?"  He nuzzled his nose against the baby's cheek till she giggled.  "How old is she, twelve?  Fifteen?"

"What?  She's just a little over a year."  She lifted the other baby from the crib and quickly slipped a pacifier into its mouth before it could cry.  "And this one is just a couple of weeks old, aren't you bee bee?" The newborn made little noises, sucking on her pacifier.  "This is Melody."

Aleks grinned at the baby.  "Time runs differently here I guess."  

"I guess.  But about taking you to my leader - that would be my dad and you don't want to meet him.  He's...formidable."

A laugh erupted from the young king's mouth before he could stop it, startling the baby.   _"Formidable?_  Darling you need to meet _my_ father...and my uncle, while you're at it."

"Yeah well, your dad is however many light years away and I won't be at risk of meeting him any time soon...however, if I tried to introduce you to _my_ dad he'd give you this stare that melts your bones and then if you flinched he'd figure you were guilty of something and break your neck."

"He sounds like a wonderful fellow."

"He's just very very protective of his people."

Aleks looked at her for a long moment, trying to decide what it was that he liked about this girl.  Her honesty?  The fact that she wasn't impressed with him in the least?  The easy way that she accepted everything, no matter how strange?

"I'm no threat," he finally said, quietly, swaying slowly to ease the baby in his arms to sleep.  "I just...I'm dodging responsibility, I suppose.  Just for a little while, before I have to start spending more time sitting on the throne being a king.  Finding a wife."  He looked down at the baby.  "Making a few dozen of these to carry on my name and run the kingdom after me."

"A few _dozen?"_

"Well...we do have very long lifespans, and I enjoy the hell out of women."  He gave her an impish grin, unable to stop his eyes from taking a quick appraisal.  She was a beauty, the same coloring as him, black hair, light skin, tall and willowy.  Strong, both in body and spirit.  Eyes bright with a fierce intelligence and a fearless, adventurous soul.

_This could be the challenge I came here looking for..._

"Well, we usually stop at two or three here."

"Why?  You look capable - "

She shot him a look that stopped his sentence before it was finished.

"Capable but not willing, so don't even go there."

"What, you don't like children?"

She grimaced, a distasteful expression twisting her face.  "I just watched my stepmom go through nine long painful months of pregnancy with _that_ one - " She pointed to the older baby - "Only to have my dad knock her up again three months later so she had to do the whole thing over again with _this_ one.  Add to that two rough deliveries _at home_...yeah, I'm not sure I even want to do it once, much less 'a few dozen' times.  So don't even look at me because I'm not queen material."

 _They do sound like my parents,_ he thought.  He wasn't sure if that made him happy or put him on the alert.

"Your mother and father...are they happy?"

"Deliriously.  They're complete freaks for each other."

He pondered this for a moment, the dynamics of happiness and finding one's perfect mate.  It seemed so unlikely that anyone, anywhere, could meet _the_ person meant for them.   _How would you know?_  Perhaps your person, the one deemed your other half, lived and died a millennia before you were born.  There was a lot of room for heartbreak in the universe.  "Do you believe that happens often?"

"Being happy together?  No, I know it doesn't.  They got lucky."

"Are you sure it's luck?"

The girl shrugged, pushing her long hair back to keep the baby from putting it in her mouth.  "I don't know.  I'd like to think there's something that guides it all.  I look at my mom and I see how much my dad loves her, I mean he'd die for her without even thinking about it.  It can't just happen on its own, there's no way."  She laid the baby in the crib and rubbed her little stomach, cooing at her for a moment. "They went through so much before they got to each other."

The other baby had fallen asleep on Aleks' shoulder and he moved to the crib to lay her down.  "My parents were an arranged marriage.  My father was...mentally unfit at the time, but my mother made the best of it until his mind healed.  Now he loves her more than anything in the thousand worlds."

A smile, and Cara rubbed her elbow against his.

"So the books are right about Loki being batshit crazy then."

He pondered this description, then nodded his agreement.  "Yeah, pretty much."

 

"Your belly is tight."

"Yes dear."

"I could bounce rocks off it."  He looked around for something to use to prove his theory.  "Are you in labor?"

"I think so.  Early beginning stage, it feels like."

Loki gazed at his wife, a fond smile tugging up the corners of his mouth.  "Would you like me to take you home, or do you want to have this one in some exotic realm we've never been to?"

"I think what I would like right now is for my husband to forget about bouncing things off my stomach.  Unless he would be amenable to bouncing on it himself."

"Oooh."  He grinned, a wide, lecherous grin full of perverse intent and the hunger of a god whose sex drive had been neglected for the better part of an hour.  "I forgot how randy stage one makes you."

"No you didn't - it's your favorite part of the entire pregnancy, you wait for it with eager anticipation.  Now stop looking for rocks and take me to the inn."

Loki got to his feet and pulled Lyra up off the ground, brushing the grass off her skirts.  The bright double moon made her hair look like liquid silver; the ground was cool and damp with dew under their bare feet.  "My ass is wet."

"I'm the one whose water is supposed to break."

"Oh damn, never again for me.  Did you know that equine labor is twice as long and three times as painful as humanoid labor?"

"Yes darling, you always make it a point to tell me at least twice during each of my pregnancies."

"Have I told you twice yet in this one?"

"No."

"Well okay then."  He rubbed her belly, smiling reassuringly.  "You look worried.  You're a pro at this, everything will be fine."

"I know."  She laid her hand over his, stopping the tickling motion of his fingers that was threatening too quickly to become annoying.  "It's not this one I'm worried about."

"The others?"

"Yes."  She pouted at him and he sighed, knowing he'd lost the battle before the fight even began.

"You want me to check in on them, don't you?"

She nodded, her pout turning quickly to a smile.  Loki could never resist her when she did either.  "Alright.  You know it gives me various assorted pains though," he groused, leaning back against a boulder jutting out of the hillside.

"I know."

A heavy sigh, a shake of his head just as much to clear it as to express resignation.  The girls always made his head hurt, and Aleks - Aleks provoked either a shooting pain through the scrotum or a stabbing pain in the lower back.   _Papa's little pain in the ass._

"Alright.  Just for you."

He opened links to each of his children, briefly, just long enough to verify that they were safe and well.  The girls were easy, they never hid from him and were usually in close proximity to each other so he could check on most of them at once.  The oldest girl was sometimes a little more difficult, she was married with a family of her own and occasionally ignored him when he tried to connect to her.  But Aleks - he was hard to find this time, despite the normally strong connection they shared.

"Where is that horny little bugger?"

"You can't find him?"  She looked worried and Loki watched her flinch, her hands going to her stomach.  It had never been any secret that her firstborn was her favorite of all their children together.

"Shhh, it's alright Lyra...he went to Midgard, remember?"  Loki concentrated harder, searching across the cosmos for the troublesome boy.  He couldn't lie to Lyra and just say he was alright...she would know. She always knew when he was lying.  "It's difficult for me to link with him past all the barriers.  Fucking Heimdall, the pain in the _other_ side of my ass."

"Your mouth, Loki."  She shook her head, rolling her eyes as she started down the hill, tugging their blanket along behind her.  Loki ran to catch up.

"I happen to know you _love_ my mouth and all the filthy things I can do with it, my illustrious queen."

"That's a well known fact, my darling."  She patted his cheek playfully, squealing when he scooped her up in his arms to carry her down the hill.

 

"That's my mom and dad's bed, we're not going near it."

"Why not?  A bed's a bed, isn't it?"

"Not _that_ bed.  That bed is a cursed babymaker.  You couldn't _pay_ me to get too close to it."

He looked confused, but laughed at the way she skirted around the bed without touching it to get to the bathroom, as if she believed getting too close to it would curse her.  She came back with a wet cloth and began dabbing at the baby spit on his shoulder.

"There.  Fixed."

He watched her face as she tended to him, his eyes softening as they dropped to her lips.  "Are you betrothed to anyone, Cara?"

She gave a derisive little laugh, wiping at the wet spot on his shirt with her palm.  "If you mean do I have a boyfriend, no.  Too busy for that noise."

"And if I were to throw you onto this bed and - "

"There's a knife under the mattress and dad taught me how to use it."

"I have no doubt."

"But if you wanted to throw me onto the sofa in the livingroom, I probably wouldn't be too terribly upset about it."

He cocked an eyebrow at her, unsure if he'd interpreted her meaning correctly.  "Did you just say that?"

"I was about to ask myself the same thing."  She stared at him, blinking hard, backing up a little.  "Look, you're...cute...and all, but I always sort of thought maybe I liked girls."

Aleks shrugged and with a little grin shifted his form to female.

"Will this do?"

Cara's hand flew to her mouth to stifle a surprised laugh.  "Not bad.  What else can you do?"

"This."

Disappearing and reappearing immediately in front of her in his own form again, Aleks leaned in close, bending his head just enough to put his lips near hers.  He could smell her scent, the dust and the wolves and her skin and something slightly sweet beneath it all, like vanilla perfume spilled on the ground.  It was delicate and wild and mildly arousing all at the same time.

"And this," he whispered, lowering his head just a tiny bit more, letting his lips brush against hers. 

 

Jainah awoke with a start, sitting bolt upright, her eyes wide in panic.  Akiah was already up, staring into the distance.

"I felt it too."

She closed her eyes and concentrated, sending her consciousness searching through the realms of awareness that she had access to.  The king wasn't in any of them.

"Where is that accursed boy?"

"He's with a female."  She gave the older woman a look, unsure what this new turn of events meant for them.  "If he joins with her - ?"

Jainah closed her eyes, reciting something ancient to herself, her lips moving silently around words that weren't meant to ever be spoken aloud.

"Then we're fucked."

 

 

_To be continued..._

 


	8. The Consort

 

 

 

"I need to put you somewhere."

"Hmm...?"

His breath heavy, the king moved his lips from the girl's throat to that place behind the ear where alliances are forged by night that are usually broken at first light.  He wasn't listening, her words skimming the surface of conscious thought, skipping along without sinking in.  He was too interested in other matters.

"That didn't sound right.  What I meant is - I need to figure out a place to put you for the night, don't I?"

"I suppose so."  A crude reply was on the tip of his tongue but he felt she was probably too intelligent to find it humorous.  That turned him on all the more and he let his kisses intensify, growling against the pulsepoint throbbing softly at the side of her neck.  It tensed beneath his tongue when she spoke.

"My parents will be back in a couple of hours, unless they decide to hole up at a hotel for the night...and _you_...you can't be here."

"No, not with your father's affinity for blades."

Pushing him away just enough to put a few inches between them, Cara stared at Aleks for a moment, her blue eyes darkening.

"My dad kept his apartment, it's just a few blocks away.  You can sleep there, for a night at least - I'm in charge of checking in on it every few days, he never goes there himself.  But he walks past it every morning on his way to work so, you know.  Be careful, stay away from the windows, no loud stereo."

A soft kiss, anxious to urge her back into intimacy and away from conversation, until he realized he had no idea what he was dealing with.  He pulled his head up with a questioning look in his own darkened eyes.  "What does he look like?"

"Really tall, really long black hair, kinda scary and imposing until you look right in his face.  Then he looks like a wolf puppy or something impossibly cuddly like that."

"Hmm.  Alright."  The kisses resumed again, more urgently this time.

"I don't know how long I can hide you there, though - "

Aleks sighed, frustration shortening his patience.  He'd never had to interrupt a seduction so many times to reply to his lover's yammering.  He narrowed his eyes, issuing a warning that Cara resoundingly ignored.  "I'm not really staying for long...I have...duties, I must attend to.  I'm sort of on a vacation at the moment."

"Yeah, the whole rulership thing, right?  What's that like?"

"Oh you know...king shit."  He dove at her neck again, a deep groan rising from his throat as his hands came up in search of something soft to squeeze.

"No no, not here - " she protested, grabbing his hands and bending his fingers backwards to get his attention.  "My dad will smell it.  He's got this weird nose."

He frowned, glancing back toward the nursery where the two infants were sleeping.  "But we can't leave the babies."

Pushing him off of her, Cara got up and disappeared down the hall.  The king laid his head back on the back of the sofa, scrubbing his hands up and down on his face, trying to center himself;  he wasn't usually a short tempered person but he'd never had anyone get up and walk away from him before while he was romancing them.   _You should already be in her pants, Lokison.  What the hell is your problem?_

_She's not afraid of you._

_You're no king to her._

_She's already seen you naked and wasn't even impressed enough to look twice._

_Dammit._

"Just stay on the blanket."  Snapping her fingers and motioning for him to get up as she reentered the room, the girl spread a thick comforter over the sofa where they'd been sitting.

"But we've already been sitting there."

"Apparently people smell different at various stages of arousal and fulfillment.  Dad says - "  Her face went funny for a second and she waved her hand dismissively.  "You know what?  Never mind, it sounds weird even to me.  Whatever scent is already on the couch is fine, he'll believe you're someone from work, which is where I found you so at least I'm not lying to him.  He's good at sniffing out lies too."

"Who the hell is this guy?"

"I'm not sure, I just met him a couple of years ago."

"But isn't he your father?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm."

The politics of Midgardian family structure was an alien concept to him, one that he rapidly lost interest in educating himself about when the girl climbed onto the now-covered sofa, sitting with her legs tucked under her, a position that he found both alluring and challenging.  She gave him a come-hither look and he obeyed, joining her on the sofa in the same position, his knees bumping up against hers as he leaned forward to kiss her. She sighed against his lips, letting her tongue tease him just a bit.

"I'm sort of a virgin," she whispered.

"So am I."

The kiss broke and she sat back, eyeing him disbelievingly.

"You?  No way, you're lying."

"No, really."  He reached for her, but she leaned back and kept the look of doubt firmly etched on her face.   _It'll be morning before I get anywhere with this female._  "There's this ancient decree that says I have to be pure till my powers all manifest.  I did the research, pure means unfucked.  But it doesn't mean I can't do other stuff."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I do other stuff all the time and my powers are fine."

The corner of her mouth quirked up, just the tiniest bit.

"What sort of other stuff...?"

 _"This_ sort."

 

Sliding a hand inside the top of her shirt, he popped the first button open as their lips met.  It was a soft kiss, slow and deep, that quickly devolved into an urgent, frantic desperation to get closer to each other through clothes and skin and the space in between.  Aleks pulled her down onto her back by her legs but she quickly pushed him over and climbed on top, sitting astride his hips, grinning down at him as she pushed her hair back off her face.

"I told you, I'm not really into the whole gender thing," she said, tucking her hair behind her ears as she began moving her hips on him.  "You don't get to act like the guy by default just because you're a guy."

Aleks lay still, looking up at her.  She was beautiful...he could easily develop an unhealthy attachment to her if he wasn't careful.   _Very_ unhealthy if his Uncle ever found out about her.

"Fine.  Do what you will, gender roles be damned."

They were, and she did.

 

"He's fucking around again."

"Worldwalking?"

"No, literally fucking around.  I can smell her, he's with some Midgard female."

"He's not - _actually fucking,_ is he?"

Loki looked at his wife, an amused grin tugging at the corners of his lips.  He always found it cute when she used inappropriate language, it sounded so funny coming from her queenly little mouth.

"I hope not, or he's going to be stuck forever with a half-assed set of skills and a few dangerous magic tricks that are more likely to set his pants on fire than actually accomplish anything."

"Can you do something?  You know - to ensure he keeps his head about him?"

"Oh I'll make sure his _head_ stays _right_ where it belongs," Loki sneered, closing his eyes as he began turning the link to run the other direction.  "The only thing he'll be losing tonight is some sleep."

 

"Ow!"

"Be quiet."

"No, really - _ow."_

"What?"

Aleks reached down and rubbed at his groin, grimacing in pain.  "My father's saying hello."

Cara looked down at where he was rubbing himself and scowled, more in confusion than annoyance.  "Your dad communicates through your ballsack?"

"Yeah, unfortunately.  He's got a cruel sense of humor."

"Dude, that's twisted."

"It feels like it."

She reached down and rubbed him where he indicated the pain was coming from, giggling a bit.  "Well it gets your attention anyway, doesn't it?"

The king scowled, shaking his head.  "We're linked, my father and I.  All he has to do is think about intruding on my privacy and there it is, playing out like a telenovela in front of him."

"Like a _what?"_

Confusion crossed his face, mixing with the discomfort from his groin.  "Isn't that a thing here?  Or am I getting my realms confused?"

Cara laughed, stretching out next to him with a look of contentment on her face.  "Babe if your private life is like a telenovela, you've got a _lot_ bigger problems than just your dad telepathically dickpunching you while you're trying to get some."

Aleks thought about it for a moment, laying on his back next to her.  Their clothing was scattered, some bits still on, some off, all of it twisted and damp with their sweat.  He was in no hurry to move and had no thoughts at all about leaving...for perhaps the first time in his life he wanted to stay with a girl after taking his pleasure from her.   _This one_...this one was different.  She hadn't allowed him to do as he wished, to take as he desired. There was no submission in her, no quickness to obey, no fear of his authority.  She'd demanded every bit as much as he had and in the end had fallen back onto the comforter with a long heavy sigh, sated and satisfied, long before he did.

He turned his face toward her, his lips bumping softly against her bare shoulder.

"I like you," he said, quietly, a slow sleepy smile edging across his mouth.  The girl returned it, kissing the tip of his nose.

"Does this make me a royal consort?"

He thought about it for a moment.  "Actually, yes it does."

"Hm.  I like the sound of that.  Throughout history some of the most powerful people in the major world kingdoms have been the consorts to royalty."

Aleks laughed quietly, biting her shoulder.  He had no doubt she would be running the nine realms within a week if he took her home with him.

 

Malik stood in the center of the empty arena, glancing up at the sky to estimate the time.  He didn't believe in timepieces, relying on the sun's position above him to tell him what part of the day he was in.  Thor shook his head, sighing. _Bloody fool's always either an hour late or a half hour early._

"Where is he, Odinson?"

"Not here."

"Obviously.  He's missed his lesson, I presume you'll tell him I'm displeased with His Majesty when you see him?"

_If I ever see him again -_

"Yes, Malik.  But I don't think that will be today."

"Oh?  And why is that?"

Unsure how to answer without drawing the old man's ire, Thor stood dumbly, his mouth half open though no words were forming inside it.  He sensed someone approaching from behind him and closed his mouth, the loss for words turning into a smile of relief.

"May we speak with the King's chief advisor, please?"

Thor cast the two new arrivals a quick look, then turned back to Malik with a shrug, indicating that their conversation was over.

"That would be me."

"Yes, we know it would be you."  The note of impatience, tinged just barely with a hint of sarcasm, wasn't lost on Thor.  He laughed softly, looking at the robed visitors with a questioning grin, waiting for them to make their intentions known.  His eyes widened with interest when they pushed back their hoods, revealing their faces to him.  The pastel tinted silver hair, the slightly pointed ears, the large liquid eyes, unnatural in color. Delicate faces with an almost ethereal beauty, more like a painting than a living being.  He recognized their kind, but couldn't quite remember what they were called.  But he did remember that their race was entirely female, and that the last time he'd seen one of their species she was leaving his brother's bedchambers in a hurry.

"He knows who you are, Jainah," the younger of the two remarked quietly, her eyes trained intently on the big god before them.

"Of course he does.  And if he thinks about it a little bit harder, he'll remember _why_ he knows who I am.  And then he'll quickly figure out why I'm here now, and understand why it is of the utmost importance that he take us to his nephew the King immediately."

Thor grinned, chuckling with amusement as the visitor outlined what she expected of him without speaking directly to him.   _She thinks herself above me._

"We _are_ above you, Master Advisor.  Don't delude yourself into thinking for a moment that you are of any importance to us other than a means to get to our goal."

He lifted one brow, his eyes skirting quickly over the woman.  "Telepath?"

"Something of the sort.  I'm afraid you're not that difficult to read - simple thoughts, singleminded intent, focused entirely on duty and little else.  And goodhearted, which leaves you wide open."  She smiled, briefly.  She remembered him being a kind soul.  "But I'm afraid we're here for someone a little less... _easy."_

 _Syl,_ Thor suddenly remembered.  The legendary pathfinders. _When a being of importance to the balance of the universe loses their way, the pathfinders guide them back to it._ Frigga had told him that, though she steadfastly refused to speak any further of the mysterious beings that had come from the desert in search of her other son.

They'd saved Loki from his bitter hearted choice to use his magic and powers for dark sorcery when he was younger.  He knew the universe owed them a debt of gratitude for that.  Even with his... _diversions_...later in life, Thor knew it would have been much worse if they hadn't gotten to him first.

But what did they want with Loki's son?

"Aleks isn't home, I'm afraid."

The older of the two nodded, raising her hood to shield her pale eyes from the bright sun.  "We know.  We'll wait."

 

Cara took Aleks to the canyon early the next morning, watching him as he whistled for Sleipnir.  When the steed appeared at the mouth of the canyon and whinnied his greeting, Aleks turned to her with an easy grin. She returned it, a wistful sort of halfhearted smile that made him furrow his brow in confusion.

"What's wrong?"

"You're leaving.  I might not ever see you again."

He moved up in front of her, lifting her onto the truck's tailgate and moving in between her knees to pull her into a close embrace.  "Of course you'll see me again."

"You're going to go home and go back to being king.  You'll find your queen and forget about me."

He shook his head, his eyes holding hers.  "Not a chance.  I'm sure Heimdall and my uncle will find some way to close this realm up tight to keep me out, but I've got more of my father in me than either of them will ever be comfortable with."

"Daddy knows some back doors, eh?"

"You might say that."  He grinned again and pulled her close, sliding his hands around to squeeze her bottom.

"There you go, pull the nepotism card every chance you get."  She squirmed in his embrace.  "And watch the fingers buddy."

He lowered his head to kiss her, and it was full of longing and fondness and an unmistakable sense of already missing each other.  He rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, breathing in the warm earthy scent of her.

"Thank you for sharing your little sisters with me.  I miss mine...so that was nice."  He pulled her a little closer, sighing happily.  "And thank you for sharing _you_ with me as well."

She looked up at him, her eyes softening to something close to true sentiment for the first time.

"It was my pleasure, Your Highness."

_To be continued..._

 


	9. Assignation

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Mother, I've a question for you."

Lyra looked up from her book, smiling adoringly at her son.  But there was a hint of apprehension in her happy expression and she glanced around, checking to make sure her husband wasn't within earshot. Aleks knew she was looking for his father and pressed a finger to his lips, a silent _shhhh_ as he closed his eyes and vanished.  A moment later he reappeared, slapping the thigh of his breeches to put out the sparks that were threatening to set the fabric aflame.

"Is he here?"

"I didn't see him."

She patted the settee cushion next to her and Aleks sat, slipping an arm around his mother.  "So ask me your question."

"What do you know of these Syl that are here to see me?  Papa says I should listen to them or I'll end up like the worst possible version of him."

Lyra laughed, covering her mouth to stifle the outburst.  The new baby was sleeping nearby and she didn't want to wake her - this child was a light sleeper and tended to shapeshift into all kinds of unpleasant forms when disturbed.   _Damn Loki's twisted genetics._ Each of his children was more unusual than the rest.

"The worst possible version of your father.  Well my darling, once upon a time I would have claimed to have known him at his very worst, but as it turns out and the history books have proven, the monster I knew was nothing compared to what he once was.  I simply met him while he was in a bad mood by comparison."

"Papa was evil?  I mean - truly evil?"

"No, not quite...but very fast on his way to becoming so.  The Syl supposedly set him straight, helped him correct the path his Seidr was taking."

"How?"

"I don't know, really.  From what I understand he carries the soul of one of them.  Apparently when he smiles and you see that softness in his eyes, that's the soul inside him, keeping him sane.  Or something. I'm not entirely sure I'm telling it correctly."

Aleks thought about this for a moment, unsure he liked the idea of it.  He already had his own soul and the soul of the wolf inside him - adding another might make things uncomfortably crowded.

"So one of them plans to put their soul in me?  Why?  What have I done to make them think it's necessary?"

"It's precautionary.  Apparently you're every bit as powerful as your father at his very strongest, and once your powers manifest completely, you will become the biggest potential threat this universe possesses - or so they say."  Lyra shook her head, laughing a bit at the ludicrous drama of it all.  Her sweet little firstborn was more of a threat to himself than to anyone else.  "You're a good boy, Aleks...they just want to make sure you remain that way."

"They."

Lyra nodded sadly.  "By sheer merit of who you are, you're subject to the fears and fancies of millions."

"I'm not sure I like this."

The former queen sighed, patting her son's head as he laid it in her lap.

"Me neither, sweetheart."

 

 

The boy King sat quietly - quite contrary to his nature - listening only halfheartedly to the Council business as his Uncle's voice droned on in a disinterested monotone, betraying the fact that he was every bit as bored as Aleks was.  As the scribes scribbled out their notes and the advisors nodded and grunted their approval or disapproval at each bit of business, the King's head found itself elsewhere, wandering back to the realm where he'd left the black haired girl with the turquoise eyes.

He missed her already.

His mind was entertaining itself with the memory of her sitting astride him, of the pleasure they'd taken from each other, a longing-filled smile tugging at his lips as he recalled the unimpressed manner in which she'd shrugged and said _Cool_ when he'd told her he was a king.  So lost in the melancholy sting of leaving her behind was he that his father's voice escaped his notice until Thor elbowed him, nearly knocking him off his chair.

Loki was gracing the Council chambers with his presence, an honor not often bestowed since he'd handed over the throne - and not bestowed many times when he'd  _held_ the throne, either.  The Council stood, nervously bowing to the former monarch. 

"Excuse the interruption of what I'm sure is a _most_ absorbing discussion of the fair price for beets and the taxation of milk cows, but I bear most pressing news for our beloved Sovereign."

The younger members of the Council, unfamiliar with the prior ruler's cynical nature and sarcastic demeanor, looked at one another nervously as the older members sighed and shot each other knowing glances, hoping beyond hope that the Trickster God would announce his business without too much nonsense and let them get back to their duties.  But Loki was Loki, and therefore little hope found its way to their hearts or faces.

"There is a message from Midgard, addressed to Lobo."

Aleks' eyebrows shot up, betraying his excitement - though not nearly as much as jumping out of his seat did.

"What does it say?!"

Loki frowned at his son, his meaningful glare sending him back a step once the boy realized he'd given himself away.  Not only had he just owned up to being on Midgard, he'd made it painfully clear that an Earth female - a _mortal_ \- had been involved in the equation.  His father's stern look brought a less than proud bend to his back and he waited in silence as Loki excused the Council, allowing only Thor to remain in the chambers as he pulled up a chair and seated himself, stretching his long legs out to prop his boots up on the table.

Once all the members of the Council had vacated he turned his attention fully to Aleks.

"Now listen you troublesome little shit, your mother and I came all the way back from Faschia Echelon to protect your disobedient ass from the Council and now that you've had your fun, you're going to warm that fucking throne with your backside and do your duties like a proper King, do you understand me?"

"You came back because Mother went into labor."

"Your Mother is always in labor, where we are when it happens makes little difference.  What does matter is that you do your job and quit running off all the time like the nine realms are your personal playground."

Thor cleared his throat loudly, shooting Loki a look.

"What?"

"The stench of hypocrite is burning my nose hairs."

"Oh fuck off Thor, remind me again why you're here?  Second in command to my incompetent offspring?"

"I'm here because you value my counsel, as does your..."  He shot Aleks a conspiratorial wink. _"...incompetent offspring."_

"And?"

Thor frowned, resisting the urge to grab his brother by the throat and shake him till he squeaked.

"And because my strengths are better suited to serve in conjunction with what you - and now your bloodline - bring to the throne."

"Yes now shut up and let me shout at my brat."  He turned his attention back to Aleks again.  "Now listen up.  Your mother has forbidden me to kill you but she neglected to tell me I can't change you into something small and furry for your sisters to play with, and don't think for one second that I'm not seriously considering doing just that.  But seeing as I'm not keen on having the duties of the throne fall back on me again, here's what's going to happen."  He pointed a finger at his son and Thor couldn't help but notice the quick flash of green in Loki's fingertips...the sorcerer in him was struggling to be let loose, but to his credit, he was restraining his magic.  "You're going to do your best to be the king the realms expect you to be, you're going to spend more time here in Asgard doing your job until such a time as your mother manages to birth another male offspring to take your place, and you're going to listen to your Uncle because he's a damn fine advisor and I've given him permission to snap you in two like the skinny little twig you are if you defy him even once."

Thor sniggered behind his hand, pretending to be rubbing his face when Loki and Aleks turned to look at him.  They stared for far longer than he could hide his amusement.  "What?  Oh like he's ever listened to me and _not_ defied me."

Loki shook his head, sighing heavily as he pulled his feet down off the table.  "And then there's the little matter of you losing your virginity.  As I understand it there are two fine ladies of the Syl Delegation here to see about tending to that, and I suggest you do what they tell you."

Aleks knew better than to say another word;  his father's tone of voice and facial expression provided a warning that he was all too familiar with so he simply nodded, trying his best to look contrite as the old sire stood and headed for the door, flicking his fingers angrily to release the residual energy that had gathered in them.

"Father - "

Loki stopped, turning to look at his son.  It was like looking into a mirror that showed him the past, only a much less painful and turbulent past...the boy was him made over, though his face bore none of the sadness or anger he'd carried at that age.  His heart suddenly felt soft and he realized why his wife was so attached to this particular one of their offspring.  There was something innately _lovable_ about the little shit.

"Yes?"

"The message, from Midgard.  What did it say?"

There was an anxious sort of hope in the young king's face and Loki pretended nonchalance, shrugging as if he'd almost forgotten.

"Oh, that - um, she said the gate is always open."

 

 

When the door was shut behind them, Thor gave Loki a curious look.

"How did you receive a message from Midgard?  We have no means of communicating directly with the general populace of that realm."

"No, we don't.  But that doesn't mean _I_ don't."

"You contacted the girl?"

"Now why would I do that?"  There was a sparkling mischief in his eyes as he winked at his brother and headed off down the long corridor.  "But you know I have ways of getting to places where I shouldn't be...and I admit to a certain degree of... _curiosity_...concerning his relations with the mortals."

Thor let him leave, waiting until Loki was about to turn the corner to the courtyard before stopping him again.

"Loki!"

The Trickster God turned, his expression half annoyed and half amused.  "What now?"

"The girl...did she meet your approval?"

Loki thought for a moment, then nodded.  "If he has to care for a Midgardian, he could do far worse."

"Is she queen material?"

"I believe she is...but I doubt she'd be even remotely interested in the job."

Before Thor could hit him with another question, Loki blinked into nothingness, startling a servant that was passing just as he vanished.  The big old god chuckled softly to himself, sighing as he turned to go back to the council chambers and make an attempt at resuming the interrupted meeting.

"Seems _nobody_ is these days."

 

 

The two women stood as the King entered, though everyone around them bowed in obeisance.  Aleks looked at them curiously, wondering why they felt no need to kneel as the rest did - though the shorter of the two did give him the slightest tip of her head as he stepped up in front of them.

The taller woman spoke, her voice surprisingly authoritative and just slightly - condescending?  Aleks cocked an eyebrow but let her speak, not that she implied any indication toward waiting for permission.

"The famed Wolf Prince."

The boy allowed himself an arrogant little smirk as he leaned forward to put his face close to the visitor's.

"That would be the famed Wolf _King,_ actually."

"Ah - pardon, Your Majesty."  The Syl looked him straight in the eyes, holding his gaze steadily and without any trace of subservience.  "I was saddened to learn that your father no longer holds that title - "

"Don't be sad, my father has retired the throne and gone adventuring with my mother."

"Really?  How romantic."  There was a note of sarcasm in the Syl's voice, but rather than angering him, Alex felt his curiosity rising.  The two women - they _appeared_ to be females, at any rate - seemed to regard him almost as an inferior and he struggled to recall what Thor had told him about them, that their race was ancient and they were considered nobility in all the realms, though they wandered and paid honor to no rulership.

Their lack of respect for him was more intriguing than irritating, though the haughty demeanor of the leader did rub him just a bit wrong.  He turned to his attendants and councilmembers, dismissing them with a jerk of his hand.  "Leave us."

As the rest of the court filed quietly out of the hall, he kept his gaze on the woman closest to him.

"I'm told I am to do as you instruct," he said quietly once the hall was empty, his eyes flitting past the taller Syl to her companion.  "But first I have some questions."

"Then you must ask them."

"Which of you knew my father?"

The first woman lifted her head higher, allowing him more of a look at her face, shrouded mostly inside her hood.  "That would be me.  You may call me Jainah."

"What exactly did you do for him, _Jainah?"_

"My duty."

"Which was - ?"

There was a decidedly dark look come across her face as she lowered her head slightly and narrowed her strangely colored eyes.  "I joined with him and gave him what he needed to avoid the abyss."

 _Well this was interesting._  The young king circled the two women slowly, perusing them carefully.  Something about them made him nervous and though he was generally more intuitive than logical, he tried to dismiss the overwhelming sensation of unease they seated in him.

It wasn't working.

The wolf hidden in his nature pulled its head up and sniffed the air.

"The abyss?  And what is that, exactly?"

"The darkness that invades a soul that has been lost."

He stopped circling and looked the older Syl directly in the face.  There seemed to be shadows obscuring a clear view of her features and he realized he couldn't remember from one moment to the next what she looked like.  It was unnerving and he resisted the urge to order them both to remove their hoods - _they recognize no authority of kings_ Thor had told him.  His voice was louder than he intended when he spoke again, but it was steady and betrayed nothing of the unease he felt.

"How did you avoid taking his darkness into yourself if you joined with him?"

"I'm immune to the dark."

The king cocked his head.

"You glow?"

It was meant as lighthearted mockery, an attempt to ease the sense of rising hostility he was feeling in himself and the further descending shroud of mysterious threat the women exuded.  But they simply exchanged a look between themselves and then turned their unamused gazes back to him.

"You're not as bright as we were hoping."

Aleks Lokisson had had enough of this nonsense.  He was _king,_ for fucks sake...the two women stood before him without respect, without lowering their hoods, without showing him the slightest bit of honor.  His father had cooperated with them but he knew there had to be more of a story there than he'd been graced with.  No way would Loki have ever gone easy with these arrogant creatures - not without a fight, at the very least.  Unless they had resorted to trickery and beat him at his own impressive skillset.

Which was a worrying prospect.

He'd be damned if he was going to let them beat him, and they certainly weren't going to intimidate him.

"And was my father lost?"

"All but."

"Then how do you know your... _contribution_...was responsible for his redemption?"

The Syl's strange eyes flashed for a moment, staring coldly into him.  "It is a matter of faith."

Aleks shook his head, backing away from the two women with a coldly calculating grin that showed neither mirth nor good temper.

"Fuck that.  I have faith in one thing only, and that's what I can see with my own eyes."

 

The two women looked at one another for a brief moment, a wordless exchange between them giving the king just enough time to close his eyes and begin summoning his power.

"We thought you might feel that way," the older Syl was saying as she reached inside the folds of her cloak.  "Fortunately we have considered all contingencies - "

But Aleks didn't hear her;  the rushing winds in his ears were deafening, drowning out her voice as they whipped around him, sending him headlong blindly through the fabric of space to god only knew where.  The two women stared at the empty place before them, their oddly colored eyes reflecting the lapping tongues of fire that burned black circles into the floor where the young king had been standing.

"Our worst fears have come to fruition," the older of the two finally said, her voice holding more annoyance than anger as she turned to storm out of the throne room.  "He is _exactly_ like his father."

 

 

_To be continued..._

 

 

 


	10. Deserter

 

 

"Where is he?!"

Loki and Thor looked up from their sloshing tankards, caught mid-laugh over some bit of lewd merriment as the elder Syl stormed into the mead hall and strode purposefully toward their table, her younger companion following at a distance.  Thor began to stand but Jainah thrust her hand out, indicating with her piercing stare that Loki was the one she wished to speak with.

The former king smiled warmly but didn't rise.

"Hello, Jainah my dear."

"Where is he Loki?  If you're assisting him to evade his fate - "

"I'm afraid I don't quite know what you're talking about.  Interesting choice of words though."  The look on his face didn't match his words and Thor squinted to be sure he was reading his brother's expression correctly.  Sure enough, so far as he could tell Loki was _smirking_ at the Syl.

And she wasn't happy about it.

"You know this must be done, the joining must be performed!"

"No I _don't_ know, to be honest."  There was a jarring finality in his voice and the hall fell silent as the Trickster god slid his leg off the table and finally got to his feet, a bit slowly, still clutching his half empty tankard.  "What I _do_ know is that your race is dying out, that you and your companion are two of only a few remaining, and that you are very, _very_ good with lies."  He brought the heavy brass mug to his lips and tipped back a long swallow, then wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve.  "So good in fact that I almost didn't catch on.   _Me,_ the God of Lies!"  He shook his head, laughing, as Thor looked from one to the other of them in confusion.

"What's this about?"

"This, my dear brother, is about procuring progeny and the guarantee of continuance.  At least I think it is...I'm not one hundred percent on that, but I will tell you this - that woman put something in me, but it wasn't her soul."  He turned his back to the two, taunting them with his blatant show of disrespect.  It was the way they'd treated him and the way they'd treated his son, now he was more than happy to hand it back to them in the form of a total disinterest in their plight as he strode to the taps and drew himself another tankard of mead.  "Fortunately I was able to purge it, whatever it was.  But tell me Jainah - what did you do with what I put in _you?"_

The younger Syl looked at her companion in confusion.

"What is he speaking of?"

The look on the older Syl's face was curiously blank, but something in her eyes betrayed a deep churning of thoughts, emotions - _feelings?_ She straightened her back and kept her stare firmly fixed to the slightly inebriated god who was attempting to make it back to the table without spilling his over-filled mug.

"I see the madness never truly left you, Loki."

A loud laugh broke from the former King's throat.  "You want to know what's mad, Jainah?  The fact that you assumed I'd never figure it out.  And I admit, it took me a while, mainly because I could never sort what your endgame was.  But there's been this... _nagging_ sort of feeling in the back of my mind for quite a few years...just about as many years as it's been since you and I played our little round of _let's fix Loki."_

Thor realized he was looking back and forth between his brother and the Syl so often that his head was becoming quite dizzy.  Too much mead and too much confusion weren't helping the situation much and he finally opened his mouth to ask a question, his words catching before he could speak them.  Everyone looked at him expectantly, but he ended up just shaking his head and putting his face back into his drink.

"Loki, tell us where the boy is and we'll take care of our business and be on our way."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, darling."

"And why not?"

"Well, mainly because I don't know where he is.  And secondarily - because I've finally figured out what that nagging feeling has been all this time."  He returned to his seat, propping one leg up on the table again as he took a long, unhurried drag on his tankard.  Thor watched with a sort of anxious curiosity, having given up on attempting to figure any of it out for himself.  Loki and the Syl seemed to be toying with each other, and it was the most interesting thing he'd seen in decades.

Jainah stared at him while Akiah stared at her, the younger Syl's face giving away her confusion just as much as Thor's did.  She opened her mouth to speak again but Jainah raised a hand to silence her.

Loki narrowed his eyes, staring at the two women.

"Well it appears your companion is an unwitting pawn in this little game, Jainah.  Does she not know?"

Akiah finally spoke, disregarding Jainah's signal to keep quiet.

"Do I not know what?"

Loki sat up quickly, his face a mask of devious delight as his mouth fell open in mock surprise.  "She doesn't!  Ah, darling girl, let me tell you a little something about myself.  I have this - _thing_ \- "  He waggled his fingers around on both sides of his head - "that links to me to all of my children.  Sort of a telepathic messaging system, of sorts.  It manifests itself differently for each offspring, but I've never any doubt which one I'm linking with.  But a few years back...say, around the time I was finally ripping that demon's unwelcome spirit out of my soul...there was something of a glitch."  He waved a hand dismissively toward Jainah, a look of anger flashing for a moment through his eyes.  "Or at least I interpreted it as a glitch.  Now I know what I was sensing was actually another fruit on the old tree."

Everyone looked at everyone else in confusion...except Loki and Jainah, who stared at each other with such pure unfiltered malice that no one dared speak a word to interfere with the deathmatch their eyes seemed to be engaged in.  Loki finally winked and broke the stare, turning to the other Syl. 

"So you see - what's your name, darling?"

"Akiah."

"Akiah.  You see Akiah, you're one of the last of your race and one of only a few capable of carrying out this mission.  The procurement of progeny - royal progeny, at that.  Each of you Syl is only able to breed once, am I correct?  Jainah was successfully bred by the King of Asgard and Ruler of the Nine Realms, and now you, Akiah, are meant to do the same with the man who now holds that title.  Which is why your kind bow to no authority...because all your children bear the blood of kings."

Akaiah's head spun around to look at Jainah.  "You never told me of this!"

"It wasn't within the realm of information that would benefit either you or our cause."

"In other words it was available on a need to know basis, darling, and the general consensus was that _you didn't need to know."_

Jainah took a deep breath and turned for the door.  "Enough of this.  If you won't cooperate, we'll do it our own way."

"Yes good luck with that."

She paused for just a moment, turning back to hurl some parting words at Loki, but he interrupted her with a salute of his tankard.  A thick wave of amber colored mead sloshed over the rim and he grinned.  "I know my son, Jainah.  He won't go easy, just like I didn't.  I do hope you have some of that mind-altering dust handy because you're going to need it again."

 

 

There was a long silence in the hall after the Syl left, the younger woman looking back at Loki in confusion as she followed Jainah out.  Loki offered her a sympathetic smile and tipped his head to her.

Thor watched until they were gone, then sat in silence with the rest of the room as Loki finished his mead, unconcerned and acting as if nothing at all out of the ordinary had just transpired.  He finally couldn't stop himself from speaking, leaning across the small table to address his brother quietly.

"So...what...exactly...just happened?"

Loki drained the last of his drink and belched loudly, putting his mug on the table with a finality that said _I'm done._  He looked at Thor for a second before giving him a sheepish grin.

"I'd like to be able to claim I knew all along but it only just fell into place for me this morning when I saw them entering the courtyard.  Lyra said something - _what will become of their wisdom once their race dies out?_ \- and it occurred to me that they turn up whenever a throne is about to change hands...or has recently done so."

"I don't get it."

"They use royalty as a stud service, Thor.  If you had taken the throne instead of me, it would have been _you_ that serviced the formidable high priestess all those years ago."

Thor thought for a moment, trying to sort things through the haze of mead and confusion.  "But you weren't king at the time, when they came to you."

"No, but they have the gift of sight.  They knew I would _be_ king.  They used that to make it appear that they were simply saving me from darkness when actually they wanted royal seed planted in their longevity garden."

"But - the prophecy?  And keeping you from evil - ?

Loki laughed as he tipped his chair back on two legs, tucking his hands behind his head.  "Do I really strike you as someone who didn't fall gleefully into the pit of despair and willingly thrash around in it until I'd had enough and climbed back out on my own?"

"Well...now that you mention it..."  The big god furrowed his brow as the details swirled around, some falling into place, others stubbornly drifting with an aimless disregard for his attempts at making sense of it all.  "But what of her soul being inside you?"

"Myth.  Pure lies, fanciful stories to further their agenda.  What she put inside me was a memory block of sorts so that I wouldn't wake up to the truth and call her ass out.  What she wasn't counting on was my link with my children."

"Yes, that.  What did you mean, you were sensing another fruit on the tree - ?"

"Stud service, Thor.  Jainah didn't come to me to save me from turning evil, as they like to so ominously put it.  She came to me because I was to be king and it was her turn on the roster to contribute to the Syl continuance pool."

The furrowed brow deepened.

"So...you..."

"Yes.  Dear gods Thor, I do believe you're getting thicker in your old age.  She bore a child, _my_ child.  I've been sensing its presence all this time and just didn't realize that was what it was."

"So you have another son somewhere?"

"Oh Thor, you know me...sons aren't really my thing."  He grinned maliciously.  "I'm very happy to announce that I was of very little assistance to the Syl.  They need males and all Jainah could procure from me was yet another female."

Thor broke into a wide smile, then a chuckling laugh.  "Leave it to you to fuck up an entire race's shot at surviving."

Loki reached across the table and grabbed Thor's mug, draining what was left in one long swallow, sighing contentedly as he slammed it back down on the table.  "Trust me brother...we may not _want_ them to survive."

"So where is the child?"

"Oh hadn't you guessed?  The younger Syl, the one who so carefully kept her hood up so we couldn't see more of her face than was strictly necessary?  What do you think she's hiding under that cloak?  I personally think it's blue ears or perhaps a small set of Jotun horns."

The furrowed brow was now threatening to fold the God of Thunder's forehead in two;  but after a long moment, a look of excited realization finally overtook it and his eyes went wide.

_"Akiah is your daughter?!"_

Loki was rubbing his face with his hands, the mental acrobatics of the afternoon beginning to wear on him just a bit.  He was still quick and agile of brain in his older age, but he had a lot of balls in the air at once and it took a bit more effort these days to keep them all aloft.  "Afraid so.  I'm guessing they hoped to mate her with Aleks to double up on the royal blood.  Which reminds me..."  He stood, stretching his back, swaying a bit unsteadily under the weight of all the alcohol.  "Where is the delinquent little kinglet?"

Thor shook his head, staring into his now empty mug, trying to clear his head and bring these new facts into focus.  He had no idea where Aleks had gone, but wherever he was, he hoped he was far from Asgard.

 

 

The Wolf King ran for the hills outside the city, his brother Sleipnir racing along beside him;  they separated occasionally as Aleks bounded through thickets and narrow creekbeds, but their telepathic bond kept them aware of one another's location and Sleip trotted up just moments behind him as they arrived at their destination.  The great steed had broken the gate and was waiting when Aleks apparated into the field beyond the orchard, naked and rolling around on the ground to extinguish the flames that were dancing over his skin like running water...he didn't know why his brother needed him, but the call for help had been clear.

And Sleipnir was _always_ ready for an adventure.

Aleks shifted from his wolf form and petted the horse's sleek neck as he glanced back toward the city.

"Up for a bit of worldwalking, brother?"

Sleipnir pawed the ground with three of his eight hooves.

"Good.  Not just yet though - there are a couple of people I need to speak with first."  He closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath.

 _Akiah, I need you..._  

 

 

The two Syl stood on the palace roof, staring out over the badlands to the east;  Jainah huffed in anger and pulled her hood further over her face to shield her pale eyes from the sun.  Akiah pretended to be doing her duty, searching for dimensional ripples that would betray the location of the wayward king, but she knew something her companion didn't.

She'd already found him.

Or rather, _he'd_ found _her_ \- his voice had touched her mind and her awareness had gone directly to him, far beyond the forest to the north.

_I need you._

_Your protectors can forbid us to see you but you will be found.  We have ways.  You should run, Sire._

_I am, but I need your help first._

_Anything._

_Find my father, he'll know what to do.  Tell him you're to meet me.  Tell him you need to be seen but unseen._

_What does that mean?_

_He'll know._

 

 

Loki grinned knowingly before he even turned around;  the young Syl was at the door to his private study, her face a worried mask of concern and outright confusion.  He'd known she was coming.

"So, you've come to either ask me what the hell I was talking about or you want to petition my assistance."  He turned, the grin still in place, his eyes sweeping over the woman for a moment before he nodded and motioned for her to sit.  "I'll not tell you where he is or is likely to be.  I hope you understand, I'm not big on ratting out my children to people who want to exploit them."

"No, Sire.  I think I know enough to be sure I want no part of that travesty, though I don't quite understand everything that's going on."

"Did Aleks contact you?"

"Yes."

He nodded.  He'd expected as much - Aleks was definitely his son, more so at times than he liked to acknowledge.  But he suspected the troublesome boy was about to do him proud.

"In a way that you didn't expect?"

"Yes."

"And what is it he asked of you?"

"To find you and tell you that I need to be seen but unseen."

Loki's eyes went wide for a moment.  "He trusts you?"

"Apparently, Sire.  Though I know not why."

"I do."

The Syl tilted her head to one side and Loki tried to spy a glimpse further under her hood, but the shadows kept him from seeing more than just her face.  "Excuse me?"

"Never mind...you're probably better off not knowing."  He clapped his hands together, rising to stand before the woman.  "Now, lets see about creating a duplicate for you, shall we?"

 

 

_To be continued..._

 


	11. Treason

 

 

Lyra watched curiously as her husband raced through the chambers, headed for his private study and stopping only long enough to kiss one of the children on the head.  She was about to say something when Thor barreled past her, nodding politely on his way through behind Loki.

"My Lady."

She nodded back and watched the two of them disappear behind the study door.  After several long minutes her patience ran thin and she pushed the door open, giving Loki a questioning look as he and Thor both whipped their heads up to stare at her for a moment before returning to their hurried studies.

Loki's desk was covered in old books and scrolls, open and scattered haphazardly across the surface.

"Loki, where is Aleks?"

He didn't look up, only closed a book and tossed it to the floor with a resounding thud before replacing it with another from the shelf behind him.

"He's defected, I'm afraid."

"He's defective?"

Thor snickered, then went straight faced when Lyra looked at him.  Loki laughed and removed another book from his pile, adding it to the growing stack on the floor.

"Well yes, I mean he always has been hasn't he.  But in addition to that, he's... _gone."_

"Gone where?"

"Absconded."  He went silent for a moment, his lips reciting something soundlessly to himself before he closed yet another book and disposed of it.  "Buggered off or soon will, I suspect.  There are rather a few roadblocks up that he'll be needing some assistance with before he can actually hit the galactic byway, though."

"You mean he's gone back to Midgard?"

"Probably."

"Gone or going?"

"Um...going, I suspect."

Annoyed by his dismissive answers, Lyra marched to the desk and put her hands down on the books in front of him.  "Loki stop doing that and look at me.  Tell me why Aleks is going to Midgard."

Loki sighed and sat back, rubbing his eyes.  He looked suddenly very tired, as if he was cramming a great deal of knowledge into his head in a very short period of time and it was sapping his strength.  He reached out and put a hand on hers, patting it gently, then slowly moved it out of his way.  "To get laid, I would guess."

Lyra stared at him, not understanding.  "What does that even mean?"  Loki had gone back to whispering things to himself and she looked up at Thor, standing silently behind him.  The big god looked embarrassed for a moment, then shrugged.

"I believe it means he's intending to have sexual relations while on Earth."

Lyra stared at him with a pained look on her face.

"Yes Thor, thank you, I do know what the word means, I have several dozen children if you recall."  She shook her head and turned her attention back to her husband.  "It's the _while on Earth_ part that I don't understand.  Why's he gone back to Earth?  What about the Syl?"

"The Syl are a lie, my darling."  Loki suddenly took her head in his hands and pressed a kiss to her forehead.  "Our boy is on the run I'm afraid."

She looked to Thor again, giving up on Loki, who had returned to his silent recitations.  "What's he talking about?"  Thor simply shrugged and Lyra waved him away.  "You two are getting on my nerves.  Thor, get out.  Loki stop playing with your books and explain. _Now."_

"Darling, I really need to do this - "

_"Now!"_

There was a sigh as Loki stood and closed the big book on the desk, but it was more of weariness than irritation.  He could never be angry with his wife, especially for being concerned about their children.  She was a good mother and a good mate and he smiled warmly at her as Thor left the room.  "Remember all that noble _saving him from the darkness in his soul_ tripe the Syl have been spewing ever since my trip down the joyous path of treachery and deceit?"

"I remember you being a reprehensible madman when I met you."

"Yes that.  Well it would seem their entire history, the stories about them bringing light to the dark, it's all been lies.  Maybe once upon a time they use to serve a holy purpose in the universe, but they've fallen into a bit of disrepair in recent centuries.  Declining numbers are severely cutting into their ability to remain an important entity, to have influence over kings, sway rulerships to their agendas, etcetera.  So they used me to resurrect their legend and infuse some noble blood into their descendency, thus guaranteeing they owe servitude to no one and remain an autonomous presence in the realms."

Lyra frowned for a long moment, then motioned toward the door.

"Bring Thor back, I'm not getting this."

Loki laughed as he walked past her, striding into the sitting room where the children were climbing on Thor's back as he lifted them two at a time to let them touch the ceiling.  "It will all come out in the wash, my dear."  He leaned over the cradle where the new baby was fussing quietly, gnawing on her tiny fist.  He smiled proudly as she shifted her white cotton sleeping gown into emerald green silk - the color of the kingship. _You keep doing that, little one.  The way things are going, you may be on the throne soon._ He looked back to Lyra, his grin widening into a flirtatious wink.  "And now if you'll excuse me my love, I have treason to commit."

 

 

Heimdall withdrew the sword from its slot, letting it fall to his side.  Loki's back stiffened.  It was the highest display of disrespect the gatekeeper could show him.  He kept his voice low and steady as he locked eyes with him.

"You will obey me, Heimdall."

"I obey the King."

"The King is no longer in Asgard, thereby under Executive Order 57 I as former King reassume the position of Sovereign and I'm ordering you to open that gate."

"I recognize no authority during an act of royal treason."

Thor stepped up.  "Then you'll obey _me._  Under Executive Order 57-A I as second in command assume the position of Sovereign in the absence of direct lineage."  He nodded toward the orb lock.  "Open the gate."

Heimdall stared at the two conspirators, one his oldest friend, the other his oldest foe.  After a long uncomfortable silence between the three of them, he heaved a heavy sigh, the sound of thousands of years of putting up with fuckery for the sake of loyalty and friendship.  He lifted the sword and turned to put it back in its place.

"Damned offspring of Odin.  Both of you!  If the old man were alive to see this - "

"Yes well he's not so shut up.  You'd be doing exactly what you're doing right now and you know it.  Need I remind you that you willingly committed treason against him yourself?"

"At Thor's behest."

"That's right, so you shouldn't have too much moral struggle doing it for him again.  Now open the damn gate and bugger off to the mead hall, everyone with any authority in this kingdom is standing right here giving you permission so you're off the hook."  When Heimdall merely stared at him, Loki shook his head in frustration and put his hands petulantly on his hips.  "Do you need permission from the former queen as well?  Shall I get my wife?   _Go._  No one is going to tattle on you."

Thor nodded his agreement, looking a bit sheepish as Heimdall turned his stare to him, strolling very slowly toward the orb lock;  Loki knew he was purposefully taking his time just to annoy him, but kept his tongue still until the sword fell into place with a _sssshhhhushh_ and the observatory ceiling began to open.  Heimdall watched as the endless skies became visible above them, then turned to the two conspirators.

"Whatever it is you're doing, I'm assuming it's going to be big?"

Loki grinned.  "Huge."

The gatekeeper nodded, then removed his helmet and started for the exit.  "I don't want to know any of the details.  But if it's a success, make sure my name is on it somewhere."

Loki clapped his hands together gleefully and cackled as he headed out across the bridge.  "They'll be singing songs about you until the end of time."

 

 

Aleks looked up when Sleipnir whinnied, stepping to the mouth of the cave to see what the warning was for;  the younger Syl was approaching, the horse she rode bearing the colors of the royal stables - his father's horses in particular.  He came out to help her down from her mount and brought her inside, his mouth dropping open soundlessly when she lowered her hood and allowed him to see her face in its entirety.

"You're not fully Syl," he said with a bit of curious wonder, his eyes going to the raised markings that began halfway across her cheeks and ran back toward her ears before turning abruptly to extend down the sides of her neck.

"No, I suspect I am not."

"I thought all of you had sort of...always been here.  You're not as old as your companion obviously.  Do you not know your parents?"

"My parentage has never been of importance."  Her hand went to her cheek to absently touch the markings.  "Though I admit to a certain degree of curiosity."

"I would too."

They stood in silence for a long moment, the only sound in the cave the crackling of the fire and the occasional echo of Sleipnir huffing at the door, checking on his brother.

"You summoned me, My Lord," Akiah finally said, moving slightly toward him.  "Your father created a...copy...of me, to keep Jainah from suspecting I'm assisting you.  But I don't see of what use I'll be - "

"The prophecy," Aleks interrupted, his eyes holding hers with a deep seriousness.  "Tell me what you know of it."

"Mostly that it is a lie, though I didn't know that until this day."

"What about the manifestation of my powers?"

"I can actually help you with that, but it doesn't require the method you and I had been tricked into believing."

"And you know this how?"

Reaching inside her robes, Akiah produced a small scroll.

"I stole it from Jainah while she was concentrating her attention to locating you.  It's in the sacred language, but your father was able to translate it for me."

A wide grin crossed the king's face as he reached out and took it from her hands.  

_"Good girl."_

 

Jainah stalked angrily around the chambers, muttering to herself in the ancient tongue.  The damned boy king was proving to be far more trouble than he should be - even allowing for him being Loki's son, they still shouldn't have had this much difficulty procuring him.

She stopped pacing and allowed herself a moment's remembrance of the boy's father, of how he'd engaged her in a battle of wits and tricks and finally had beaten her with that insufferable smirk and arrogant wink firmly in place, turning to walk away once he'd declared himself the victor...and how honor should have made her let him go.

Maybe it was the haughtiness in his manner that had made her mind up for her.

Maybe it was the humiliating way he'd bested her, so easily, though not without some effort.

Or maybe it was just that he was so damn handsome.

She wasn't proud of what she'd done to secure a legacy from him.  Looking down, she stared at the little clear bottle of bluish dust in the palm of her hand.  She'd cheated.  He had won fairly, and she'd resorted to underhanded treachery to take the victory by force.  But the prize was the great sorcerer Loki Laufeyson, bound forever to her through what they created together that night.  A night that the dust should have guaranteed would always be a vague but pleasant memory for the progenitor of many future Syl.  But somehow he knew far more than he should.

Where had she failed?

She turned to stare at her companion, wondering just how much of her father she had in her.  Akiah sat watching her with an enigmatic little smile on her face.

"Something about our predicament amuses you?"

The younger Syl bowed her head respectfully, turning away to avoid encouraging the older woman toward conversation.  For though she bore the face and mannerisms of Akiah, what she _didn't_ have as a hastily conjured clone was the gift of speech.

 

 

Loki stood on the hilltop overlooking the south wall of the city, winds whipping around him like a maelstrom as Thor knelt behind him, his hands steadying his brother so that all of his concentration could be directed to opening the portal.  The color had drained from Loki's face and his entire body shook under the strain of directing his powers to this task, but there was a wicked grin on his lips that kept Thor from being overly concerned for his welfare.  He'd never truly witnessed the extent of his brother's powers.  But now, lowering his head to protect his eyes from the gale force winds buffeting them from all sides, he was beginning to understand why Loki was feared in all the realms.

This was a _true sorcerer_...not a brute strength warrior but a genuine, unquestionable, undeniable _god._  His power came from within him, not through some outer force or enchanted weapon or the conditioning of his body for battle.  It was an entity that flowed through him, and it bent to his will.

He wasn't sure if he should risk breaking Loki's concentration, but his head was whirling with questions.

"Doesn't he need Sleipnir to get through?"

Loki turned his face slightly to the side, his eyes still locked to the black nothingness that was beginning to form from the stormclouds he'd created.  "He's already with him."

The wind increased and Thor went down on one knee to brace himself against it.  "I don't understand why he couldn't just use Sleip and the bifrost - "

"Because, Thor, your asshole of a father closed the way to Midgard after the humans decided one visit from me was more than enough, remember?  And besides, we redirected the bifrost's energy, it's useless for its intended purpose at the moment."

"Oh, yeah."  A brief pummeling of heavy hailstones battered them for a moment, then turned quickly to an icy rain that stung his face.  "Tell me again why we're doing this?  He got through on his own last time didn't he?"

Loki was squinting against the rain, his long black hair whipping behind him as the wind changed direction, his hands outstretched in front of him and shooting sparks of stray energy from his fingertips.  "Yes, the little shit.  And after he got back Heimdall and I set up a series of obstacles to make a repeat performance impossible.  And we are damn good at what we do - which is why it's going to take everything I've got in my arsenal to undo it."

"Is this going to get us killed?"

"Possibly."

"Are we going to destroy Asgard in the process?"

"Probably."

"But if we don't do it the Syl will use Aleks for breeding.  Is that such a bad thing that we should risk doing this?"

"You don't understand Thor, there's more to it than that.  If they were to procure a male heir from him, they could put him on the throne of Asgard and rule the nine realms through him."  A huge bolt of emerald energy burst from his left hand and he stumbled under the force of it.  Thor gripped his shoulders and held him steady.  It was finally beginning to make sense.

"So...they're in it for universal domination?  Not just survival of the species?"

"Now you've got it!"

"Well shit..."  The big god turned, putting his broad back against his brother's to hold him upright as the wind increased in both velocity and volume.  "Do your thing, brother."

 

 

 _To be continued..._  


	12. Savior

 

 

 

Aleks nodded solemnly, closing the scroll and letting it fall to the dirt floor between his feet.  He had managed to conjure some clothing for himself after his power had regenerated, but he was still too drained to summon any food or drink for himself and the woman.  She wasn't complaining, but he could feel his stomach twisting with hunger and his mouth was parched.

But the scroll offered a solution to his problem.  His powers were poorly established due to his youth and impetuous nature, this he knew.  His concentration needed honing and his control over his abilities desperately needed work.  It was all there, in the ancient writings - almost as if it had been written _about him._ Was that how the prophecy worked?  Did it tailor itself to whoever was next in line, convincing them of its truth and validity by making itself recognizable and familiar in this manner?

Had it done this to his father as well - ?

He'd read it the best he could, surmising enough from the beautifully rendered etchings to sort some of it on his own, listening carefully as Akiah translated the rest for him based on her memory of what Loki had read to her.  And now they sat in an unsure silence in the darkening cave, each of them wondering exactly what they were meant to do next.

He looked up at her after a long while, still thinking, but ready to accept what he now knew to be true.

"I'm probably not going to need my powers where I'm going...but having full capacity would definitely get me there quicker and easier."

Akiah nodded agreeably, though she didn't understand what he was talking about.  It wasn't her business to inquire, so she remained silent, watching him carefully.  He seemed restless and unsure and something in the softness of his eyes made her want to help him, more so even than her sense of owing him for the travesty that had been perpetuated against him.  It hadn't escaped her realization that he was here, hiding in a cave outside the city, hungry and on the run and so undeniably _displaced_ , because of the actions of her people.

Her people and _herself_ \- though she had been deceived just as deplorably as he had.

"You must run."

"Yes.  From what you've told me, I'm assuming Jainah will track me no matter where I go, unless I find a place she can't cast her vision to."

"There are very few of those places in the universe.  But they do exist."

Aleks nodded.  He knew just the place.  Akiah reached out and put her hand on his, very tentatively, not sure how the boy king would feel about her now that he knew the entire truth.  "I will not assist her...but others will."

"What will become of you?"

"That's not important right now."  She stood and walked to the mouth of the cave, staring into the black eyes of Sleipnir as he moved close to nibble the sleeve of her cloak.  "Loki speaks to you - from elsewhere?"

"Yes, my father and I have a link of sorts.  No matter where I am, he can contact me if he needs to...and sometimes just because he wants to."

"Is it...a touching of minds?"

"Of sorts, I suppose."  He gave her a questioning look as he tried again to conjure something to eat, crouching by the fire with his hands outstretched.  "Why do you ask?"

"It was what you did when you called me to you."

"I suppose it was."  He clapped his hands and a bottle of wine appeared;  it wasn't what he'd expected and he very nearly dropped it, but managed to save it just before it hit the ground.  "Ah, grandfather's cellars," he exclaimed proudly, holding the bottle up for Akiah to see the inscription.  "The good stuff."  His joy was endearing and the Syl laughed a little, wishing the circumstances of their meeting had been different...she felt guilty for bringing him to this inconvenience, though she knew it wasn't her fault.  She'd been used just as he had.   _Would Jainah ever have told me?_

The memory of her elder's instructions were still ringing in her head, specific and clinical, as if the recitation of the sacred words made the act that went along with it somehow less barbaric.

_He could execute me here and now for this travesty and he would be within his rights as ruler of the Nine.  And I wouldn't blame him if he did._

But there was nothing in the King's demeanor that expressed anything even close to anger.  No indignation, no rage, nothing negative toward her.  A sudden rush of gratitude brought her to her feet before him.

She had only one thing to offer him in thanks.

"Sire," she said quietly, slipping her robe back off her shoulders.  Aleks looked up from his failed summonings - there was a growing pile of various assorted knicknacks and dishware at his feet but so far no food - as she untied the sash and let it fall open, revealing the inner curves of her breasts, the gentle slope of her belly, the soft patch of crimson just below it where her thighs met.  He let his gaze fall over her, a look of surprise on his face as his brows went up questioningly.

He didn't say anything.

"Do you not desire me, My Lord?"

Nodding silently, the king let the smallest hint of a smile spread across his lips.  But it was mostly in his eyes that she saw his approval, in the warm, bright twinkling light of his irises.  They had fallen to take in her body just briefly and returned immediately to her own eyes, where they were now peering beseechingly, an unspoken question hanging heavy between them.

"I do," was all he finally said.

 

 

Thor tied Loki's long coat around his waist by the sleeves and stuffed his shirt into the pocket of his breeches;  the former and possibly current - he wasn't even sure anymore - king of Asgard had stripped to the waist, sweat pouring down his bare skin as he expended every drop of energy he possessed to maintain the hole he was tearing in the universe.  He was fairly certain what they were doing was illegal in all nine of the realms and any number of galaxies beyond, but it was obvious Loki didn't care much, if at all, about the legal propriety of their actions.  He'd assured Thor that it would be a self-healing injury to the fabric of space and that there would be no lasting negative effects once it was done, but the wink and grin that came with it reminded him that Loki was, above all else, the God of Lies.

But truth or no, there were more important things to be concerned with at the moment.

The winds had died down to a manageable velocity, no longer threatening to blow the two men off the mountainside.  But the wind that whipped around them now was arid and dry, and Thor suddenly felt so thirsty he could barely muster enough spit in his mouth to swallow.

"How much longer, Loki?"

"Not long."  The sorcerer's words were strained, his voice raspy and labored, but he was still standing straight, his back unbent with the incredible stress it was putting on his body just to direct his power to the right spot.  There was a tremor in his arms, but his legs were still and strong as pillars.  "I'm going to need a little help in a few minutes, though."

Thor rushed back to his side, concern etching his face.  "Are you alright?"

"Oh I'm fine, but we're going to need that hammer of yours to generate a little extra electricity.  You see the edge of the portal there, to the right?"

Turning to look, Thor squinted until his eyes focused where Loki had nodded with his head;  the blackness was shimmering, opening and closing unsteadily.

"I see it."

"It's dreadfully unstable and I don't want my boys going through it in that state.  It could close too soon, close improperly, not close at all, collapse in on itself, implode, explode...any of which would be a doomsday scenario on the best of days."

"I understand."  Thor's hand went up, his huge arm tensed and ready to snatch the mighty Mjolnir from the sky as he summoned the weapon with an unspoken command.  Loki looked up with a self satisfied grin at his brother's big fist, outstretched and waiting.

_He summons Mjolnir at my command._

_Hot damn._  

 

 

Smiling kindly, the king took the lapels of the woman's cloak and closed them.

"But Sire - ?"

"No, Akiah.  This isn't what I need and you and I both know it."

She lowered her head.  "Yes, Sire.  The scroll speaks the truth where people do not."  She looked up at him, a strange sort of resignation in her eyes.  "And it tells me what must be done to give you reign over your powers.  You _do_ need me, just not in the way Jainah insisted.  Not this way."

"What does it require?"

"Words," she said simply, unrolling the scroll again to show him a series of inscribed runes and symbols.  "And a sacrifice of sorts."

Aleks backed away, shaking his head.  "If you mean - "

"No Sire, not a sacrifice of that sort."  

Together they stared at the scroll, at the images drawn with meticulous artistry, depicting the various entities that must always exist for there to be balance in the universe - a hero, a scholar, a mastermind, a villain, a lover, a fool.  So many beings, all necessary for the worlds to exist and coexist, for life and time to continue and thrive.  He wondered which need he filled, his eyes constantly going back to the fool.

But another image drew his attention, that of two people, a shadowy figure moving from one to the other.

"You're not going to... _actually_ put your soul into me, are you?"

Akiah shook her head, her finger tracing a line under the words that ran through the image.  Aleks took her hand and moved her fingertip to the shadow figure.

"No," she said with certainty.  "That's not a soul."

"Then what is it?"

But she didn't answer;  her eyes were closed, her lips silently speaking the words the scroll dictated to her.  Aleks sat back and watched, not sure what he should be doing, if anything.  While she recited the sacred words, he opened the bottle from his grandfather's vineyards and tipped it up, letting the potent wine calm his nerves as the noise from the growing storm outside grew louder and louder.

 

 

Lyra sat at her husband's desk in his private study, eyes trained carefully on the ancient texts that were sprawled across it.  He'd left them open, something Loki almost never did - his library desk was always covered with open books, but here in his private study, where the oldest and most sacred of reading materials were to be found...the simple fact that he'd left the door open was more than enough of a call for assistance for Lyra to breach the nearly forbidden threshold to this sanctum and intrude on his activities.  These open books and scrolls made it all the more perfectly clear.

But she had no idea what she was looking at.

"Alyra, Annik - come here girls."

Two of Loki's daughters appeared at the doorway, peeking in curiously, hesitant to enter where they knew they weren't allowed.  Lyra motioned for them to come to her and they obeyed, thought not without first glancing nervously behind themselves to make sure their father wasn't going to catch them.  The older of the two blinked into invisibility for a moment, checking for his presence in the in-between places of nothingness, but appeared again with a far less worried look to her face.

"He's not here, Annik.  He's with your Uncle Thor, off doing something no doubt ridiculous or insane, or just plain foolish."

The two girls looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

"We're not supposed to be in here.  Papa says there's learning in here that would make us better wizards than him, and he's not ready to be bested by us yet."

"I know, darling.  But I think Papa might need you to be here, just this once."  She pushed the open books toward the edge of the desk nearest the girls, urging them closer.  "Does any of this make sense to either of you?"

The younger girl's eyes went wide when she saw the ancient text, her lips silently moving as she read it to herself.  The older was nodding as she looked at the drawings on some scattered papers.

"This is Melchizon," Annik said with certainty, holding up a drawing of a mountain.  "It's outside the city, you can see all of Asgard from the top."

"How do you know that?"

"I've been there.  It's the easiest place to teleport to because it's so high, there's no interference from other structures."

Lyra sighed.  "Of course you have.  So why would he leave that out for us to find, do you think?"

The girl closed her eyes, letting her mind go searching for Loki.

"He's there.  He can see the whole city, so he's at the top."

"Is your Uncle Thor with him?" she asked anxiously, biting her lip as the girl closed her eyes again to go look.

"Yes."

Unable to hide her sigh of relief, Lyra nodded and sat down, letting her head fall to her hands for a moment as she regathered her wits.  Thor was with him, so there was that, at least.  "What's he doing there?"

"Making a hole in the sky."

"A...hole?  Why would he be making a hole?"

"It's for Aleks."

"Of course it is."

Lyra sat back, staring at her other daughter, who was still quietly whispering words from one of the open books to herself.  It had always been something of a nuisance, having children with supernatural abilities, what with all the pranks and tricks and outright mischief they got up to.  But she knew every last one of them had a strong connection with their father...and that their powers were going to finally prove useful for more than simply setting one another's nightgowns on fire.

"Alright girls, there's something I want you to do for Papa.  Whatever he's doing, whyever he's doing it, I get the feeling he needs a little help."

The two girls looked at each other and Lyra saw the unspoken understanding pass between them.  The older girl looked at the drawing of the mountain again, her eyes flitting quickly over every detail, committing it to memory before taking her sister's hands in her own.  They closed their eyes and concentrated hard, their awareness passing instantaneously over the miles between them and Loki.

It was just moments before Lyra saw them both break into wide smiles.

From far away, they heard a familiar voice in their heads.

_Hello girls._

 

 

Akiah stopped reading and covered her mouth with the arm of her cloak, coughing quietly but deeply.  It shook her whole body and Aleks looked at her, worried.

"Are you sick?"

"No."  The coughing finally stopped and she managed a small smile as she lowered the scroll.  "Just weak."

"What's wrong?"  He brought her the bottle and helped her drink from it, noticing that she was shaking, the already pale flesh of her face more devoid of color than before.  She shook her head and swallowed, pushing the bottle away when he offered her more.

"In assisting you to manifest your powers, I've surrendered my own.  My body is adjusting to their absence."

Aleks grabbed her shoulder in alarm, making her look at him.  The image of the shadowy entity passing between two people made sense now, and it sent a shiver through him as he realized with an oddly sick sensation that he'd felt it.  He'd mistaken it for the hunger that was twisting his stomach.  "Why would you do that?"

"Because the universe needs you."  She touched a picture on the scroll, an image of a man standing with each foot on a different planet.  "You're the last of the worldwalkers."

"My brother Sleipnir - "

"Is a horse.  No offense to the great son of Loki but he's useless to us if we can't communicate with him."

"I can communicate with him.  I can speak with him telepathically."

She shook her head, leaning back against the cave wall to rest.  "It won't work that way - and you may never be able to stop moving, now that you're sought after."  She gave him an apologetic look, her hand squeezing his arm gently.  "But just as there is always a need for a master plotter, a planner - your father fills that need - there is always a need for someone to take the end results to other worlds.  You've proven yourself in this regard by breaking the barriers between Asgard and Midgard, a boy simply playing around.  How skilled would you be if you _developed_ that skill?"

"But that's not the skill I want to master."

"It doesn't matter what you want.  What matters is where your true talent lies, for that is what will take you where you're needed."

He thought about it for a long while, silently staring out the mouth of the cave at the storm that was beginning to darken the sky.  He knew what Akiah didn't - that none of it really meant anything, in the end.  He wasn't king anymore, or he wouldn't be once he passed the barrier this time.  He'd already made his mind up.

Reaching out quickly, he touched the rounded point at the top of her ear.  The grin had come back to his face again;  he'd felt something inside himself strengthening, almost like a boot being cinched up tightly by its laces, and the new intensity of his powers was making him fidgety and anxious.  "I'm afraid I don't plan to stick around, Akiah.  You'll have to find someone else to save the universe, it isn't going to be me."

She sighed, staring at him almost mournfully, knowing there would be others on missions like Jainah's, people who would hunt him in an attempt to bring him to his destiny.  The Syl weren't the only ones who knew of the scroll and its contents.  But at least, now, he'd have the power to resist them.

"You can run, My Lord," she said quietly, reaching up to put her hand over his.  "But there will only be so long that you can hide."

 

 

A loud _BOOM_ rocked the cave and sent Sleipnir skittering off toward the trees for cover;  Aleks ran out onto the ledge and looked to the south, shading his eyes against the sudden blinding brightness of unobstructed  sunlight as the clouds were sucked toward a swirling black vortex that was spinning in the distance near the cliffs.

"What is that?" Akiah asked, standing behind him, her hands shielding her sensitive eyes.  She'd seen something similar to it the night she and Jainah had tracked the boy king across the deadlands, but this was bigger, _much_ bigger.

 _"That,"_ Aleks said proudly and with no small amount of excitement shining wildly in his bright green eyes, _"would be my father."_

  

 

 _To be continued..._  


	13. Three Kings

 

 

It was taking all Thor had to hold Loki in place as the portal opened in front of them.  He tried not to look - he actively feared looking into any sort of abyss, having seen firsthand what it did to Loki, but the God of Chaos was standing straight and tall before it, his eyes locked unmovingly on the blackness that swirled and exploded, threatening to pull them both into its heart.  There was no fear on his face...in fact, if anything, there was a pure unfettered joy as he stared down the abyss of his own creation.

 _He owns this darkness,_ Thor realized.   _He's not afraid of it._

Which was good, because he himself was apprehensive as hell about the hole spinning in front of them.  It looked terribly dangerous and more than just a little bit... _wobbly._

"Now would be a good time, brother," Loki said through gritted teeth, barely able to force enough air from his lungs to form the words he needed.  Thor brought Mjolnir up and shoved it toward the vortex, a warrior's cry ripping from his throat as lightning from the storm gathered to it and cycled back, bursting from the weapon with a thousand times more power than it had entered with.  The sheer force of it nearly knocked him off his feet, but the pull of the vortex worked in the opposite direction, steadying him in place.  Loki merely ducked his head to one side to shield his eyes from the blast, looking again quickly to see if the boost of extra power had the desired result.

The unstable edge of the vortex was wide open.  He could hear his daughters' voices in his head, knew that they were helping him hold it steady.   _Good girls,_ he praised them proudly. _Just hold on a bit longer, let your old daddy send your brother someplace where he'll be safe_.

Thor glanced at Loki, a question in his eyes that was left unspoken as he continued directing his own power to the vortex.  Getting Aleks out of there seemed to be turning into a full blown family affair based on what he heard Loki whispering, and it almost made him laugh...obviously somehow the girls were helping, though he wasn't sure exactly how.

But it didn't surprise him in the least.  The Laufeysons were an impressive lot.  He realized in that moment that he was the last Odinson, and found himself wishing a bit longingly that he belonged by blood to the dark-haired family that now ruled Asgard.  Loki, the halfbreed Jotun runt with no true family and no true right to the throne, now a respected and feared sorcerer standing before him ripping a hole in the universe to save his son the King, assisted by whichever of his daughters happened to be available at the moment.  It was quite a twist in the tale, and Thor caught himself laughing at the irony of it.  He, the Golden Prince, was now the loner, the one allowed to tag along, the fatherless boy with no one to call his own.

Loki turned and looked at him, an eyebrow quirked curiously.

"Are you going to help at some point, or am I going to have to get Lyra to wake the baby?"

Thor made a face at him, shoving his arm further toward the vortex, forcing Mjolnir to its limit.  The steady and intense stream of sparking electricity flowing through the warhammer was draining him, but he stood fast, gritting his teeth to keep it aloft.  As he closed his eyes to channel what was left of his power, he thought he could hear Loki's children, singing in his head.

 

 

Jainah sensed the breakdown in the barrier between the worlds and cast her vision to the south, where a disturbance was pulling at her awareness.

_Loki._

"Akiah, join your sight to mine, we need to know where the traitor is sending the boy."  She went out onto the balcony, closing her eyes, seeking something to latch onto in the swirling confusion that was suddenly obscuring the troublesome magician.  A noisy chorus of something that sounded annoyingly like a children's nursery rhyme was hiding Loki's presence from her.  "Akiah!"

The clone obeyed, stepping out onto the balcony behind the elder Syl, a strangely enigmatic little smile on her lips as Jainah turned to her and reached for her hand.  The long fingers in her grip suddenly shifted to a deep cerulean blue and she gasped, letting go as if she'd been burned.

"What - ?  How?!"

Akiah's replacement grinned wickedly, lowering its hood to reveal blood red eyes, the dark blue creeping quickly upward until its face became the true representation of the Jotun's offspring.  Jainah pulled away, shocked and repulsed, realizing instantly that this was Loki's trickery.  She could hear it speaking inside her head.

_Hello, mother._

 

 

The hole in the sky was no longer shimmering, a solid mass of black nothingness now that Aleks recognized as a stable and steady portal.  He didn't know where it went, but he had a good idea.  Swinging himself up onto Sleipnir's back, he looked down at the woman with a grateful smile as she nodded to him, reaching up to push the scroll into the top of his boot while the great steed rared up, anxious to go.

"Take care," the king said with a wink, grabbing two handfuls of Sleip's thick black mane and holding on as they broke into a run headed south, toward the portal.

The last of the worldwalkers, the half-brother sons of the Sorcerer King, were leaving Asgard...Akiah watched them go, certain that only one of them would be coming back.

 

 

"She's coming," Loki growled, his pale face beginning to show definite fatigue as he held the portal open by sheer force of will.  Thor was on his knees now, his own strength almost spent, but his brother's words confused him and he dragged his concentration away from the job at hand just long enough to look at him.

"She?  Don't you mean he?"

"She and he both, actually."  Loki shook his head, closing his eyes tight to channel some of his mental powers toward helping his daughters cloak his location.  He knew Jainah could track him if she could sense him, and the girls were doing a wonderful job of keeping him hidden - but his Seidr, as a base elemental source of power, was giving him away.  "The witch, she's trying to find us."

"What can she do to stop us?"

"Oh I dunno, probably just kill us or something."

Thor shot him a confused look.

"I know we're getting old, brother, but we're still Aesir."

"Yes, Aesir who are currently expending every bit of their physical, mental, and supernatural powers to hold open a fucking hole in the sky.  All she'd have to do at this point is walk up and kick one of us in the balls and we'd both go down, I assure you."

Thor's confused look turned into concern, then irritation.

"Where is Aleks?"

"I can hear Sleip's hooves, but I can't see them yet."  Going down on one knee, Loki grimaced in pain as he braced himself against the incredible amount of energy channeling through his body.  He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold it...maybe if he was younger it would be easier, but age was working against him in the stamina department.  Thor sensed him slipping and redoubled his own efforts, grunting against the agonizing surge of energy pulling out of him and into the hammer, bursting messily toward the sky.

The winds whipped up around them and lightning began striking the ground on all sides of where they knelt.

"Lyra's bringing in the troops," Loki shouted, his voice barely heard over the howling gale.  "I dunno how many kids I've got but I think they're all with us now."

Thor laughed, turning his face up to the blackened sky as ice cold rain, sparkling like diamonds, began to fall.

 

 

Sleipnir ran, ducking in and out of parallel dimensions to keep his path straight and clear, avoiding the hilly terrain that would slow him down as Aleks held on the best he could, both hands twisted and tangled in the steed's long mane.  They'd jumped through so many worlds that neither knew exactly where they were anymore, but once their eyes adjusted to the storm they'd just entered, they knew they were close to where they needed to be.

Aleks could hear his sisters' voices, telling him which way to go, their unimpeded sight navigating for him.

He lowered his head next to Sleipnir's and let him hear them.

 

 

Jainah made her way to the palace roof, words of the ancient tongue spilling hurriedly from her lips. _That portal must close, the line of Laufeyson must revive the Syl._  She cast her mind toward where she knew Loki was being hidden by those infernal voices, straining to be heard over them, till the screaming of her own voice deafened her.

Somewhere to the south, on a mountain cliff in the midst of a swirling maelstrom, two old gods knelt with their hands outstretched to the heavens as if in desperate prayer.  Her sight found them and wrapped itself around the Trickster's consciousness, struggling against the combined strength of himself and his children, the ancient words summoning power as she shouted into the storm.

Loki gasped, lurching forward onto his hands, struggling to redirect his power back to its target as the intruding words broke his magic, sending it scattering to the winds.  Thor saw him fall and knew they couldn't fail... _they were so close,_ he could hear Sleipnir's huffing grunts carried on the wind.

"No way, brother."

Reaching out, he grasped Loki by the shoulder and thrust Mjolnir into his hands.

 

 

Lyra watched the girls' faces closely;  she knew something was wrong, they'd all scowled suddenly, that same angry frown that she'd seen on their father's face so many times.  They had all come to squeeze into Loki's private study, combining their strengths and powers into one unified source.  The oldest girl's husband stood nervously in the corridor like a man who had no clue what was going on, but knew he was better off not knowing - Lyra offered him a sympathetic look as she rushed past him, headed for the cradle to bring the newborn into the study.  She didn't know what sort of powers the little one possessed, but it was probably time to find out.  She was lifting the rapidly shapeshifting infant when she heard an urgent voice behind her.

_"Mama!"_

She turned to see Annik standing there, holding the drawing of the mountain.

She nodded.

_"Go."_

 

 

Mjolnir resisted mightily, but with Thor still gripping its handle it had no choice but to obey him and allow Loki to join his powers to it.  The ancient steel was burning the flesh from their hands in protest, but the two gods held it aloft.

"Where are they?!"

Thor could no longer see through the storm, but he saw the little girl step up in front of him and blinked hard to clear the rain from his eyes, not sure his poor eyesight wasn't playing tricks on him.  He heard Loki laughing maniacally and felt the warhammer jolt in his hands as the child reached out and grabbed it.  There was a deafening crack of thunder as the sky split to the north and Sleipnir leapt through with Aleks on his back.

Before he realized what was happening, Thor was flat on his stomach on the muddy ground, staring up into the angelic face of one of his nieces, though he had no idea which one.  She was holding Mjolnir to the sky - _and Mjolnir was letting her._

He shook his head, trying to clear both his mind and his eyes.  He couldn't _really_ be seeing this... _a Laufeyson, holding the hammer?_

And just behind her head he could see the blurry shape of a gigantic black stallion, vanishing through the portal.

 

 

Loki lay on his back, staring up at the swiftly clearing sky above him as he regrouped his energy.  He could barely breathe, the conjuring had taken so much out of him.  He could feel Thor laying next to him, hear the big man coughing;  the high winds had dried the ground to dust and it was settling around them in a thick, choking soup that clogged their throats and noses.  He looked around quickly and saw that both the child and the hole in the sky were gone.

Thor sat up quickly, alarm registering in his face.

"Where are they?"

Loki waved one hand dismissively, gesturing vaguely toward nothing in particular.  "Whichever one of the girls that was, she went home.  Aleks and Sleipnir went - "  He pointed toward where the portal had been, where a swirling funnel cloud was now spinning aimlessly.  "Through.  They went through."  A wide grin settled on his face and he laughed tiredly.  "We did it, old man."

The God of Thunder lay back with a grunt, his breathing heavy and ragged and his hands shaking.  He couldn't remember ever having been that scared, in all his thousands of years.

He wanted desperately to know why Mjolnir didn't resist the girl.  It was laying on the ground now, between himself and Loki, unmoving and looking very much like it intended to keep its secrets from this strange day.  He started to ask his brother _why_...but decided against it.

He already knew the answer.

It hadn't just been the one child holding Mjolnir.  It had been the entire family.  All of Loki's daughters, he'd heard their voices in his head.  All of them and Loki, in behalf of Aleks and Sleipnir.

The Laufeysons were worthy, all together.

He smiled, remembering that he'd had his hand on the hammer with them.

_Maybe this makes me one of them._

 

 

"So who's king now?"

Thor gave Loki a confused look;  he hadn't thought any further than getting Aleks out alive, but now that they'd succeeded, Asgard was without a ruler.  "Uh, that would be...you claimed Executive Order 57, so - "

"No no no," Loki protested, sitting up to brush the dust off his pants.  "Heimdall refused to recognize my authority. _You_ invoked 57-A, so that would make _you_ king."

"He didn't acknowledge me either though."

They stared at each other for a long moment.

"You claimed it last!"

"You claimed it first."

"I don't want it, Thor.  You do it."

"You've already been king once, you know how."

"Fuck that."

The brothers fell silent, then Loki finally reached over to yank his shirt out of Thor's pocket and stood to put it on.  Thor watched, noticing how bent and tired his slim, wiry body suddenly seemed.  "Okay, I'll do it."

Loki's head poked through the neck of his shirt wearing an expression of amused disbelief.  "You've got to be joking!  With your creaky knees, you'd never make it up the dais to the throne without assistance.  And your eyesight is atrocious, how do you plan to read the royal decrees if you can't even see them?"

"You said you didn't want it!"

"I don't, but that doesn't mean you automatically get it."  He reached down to snatch his coat from around Thor's waist, shaking the dust out of it before tugging it on.

"Is it too late to bring Aleks back?"

"Yes, actually.  No loss, as a king he sort of sucked.  Maybe one of the girls would be up for it."

Thor laughed.  "Asgard has already had three kings today.  Are we sure we want to appoint a fourth?"

Loki thought about it for a moment, staring off into the rapidly dissolving tear that he'd ripped in the fabric of the universe.  He was greatly relieved to see that the hastily spun lie he'd told - that the injury would heal quickly - had turned out to be true.  The hole appeared to be closing seamlessly, the little tornado dancing along its edges now nearly dissolved into the puffy white clouds around it.

"Well...there's always Lyra."

"She was a good queen."

"Yes she was."  He turned to Thor.  "You chose her.  Good job on that by the way."

"Eh.  A lucky guess."

"You chose her for yourself, didn't you?"  There was a vague air of accusation in the question, but the little smile tugging at Loki's lips softened it.  "Don't lie Thor, you know I can see through lies like toilet paper."

"Absolutely not!  But...if she had ever grown tired of you..."

"I knew it!  You're banished!"

"You're not king!"

Loki grinned, and it was full of all the gleeful mischief and joyous playfulness Thor remembered from so long ago, when they were young and hadn't yet experienced the things that were to come.

"Want to bet?"

 

 

_To be continued..._

 


	14. Queen

 

 

 

 

 

Lyra sat on the balcony looking out to the south;  the sky, black as pitch, was clearing and she knew her husband was somewhere beneath it.  What condition he was currently in was beyond her knowledge, but the children were playing happily around her, which gave her some comfort.  Loki was very closely linked with the girls, if he wasn't alright one of them would know it.

"Come home, my king."

She didn't realize she'd spoken the words aloud until one of the girls tilted her head to one side, an odd look on her face.

"Papa says he'll be home soon and for you not to worry, Mama.  He's taking Uncle Thor for a drink."

The former queen stared in surprise at the child.  "Did he say that just now?"

"Yes.  He heard you."

"How?"

The little girl glanced around the balcony at her sisters, as if the answer should be obvious.  "He hears through all of us.  You said it out loud."

"Can you still hear your brother?"

"Yeah.  He's noisy."

"Where is he?"

"I don't know.  But he's on fire again."

Lyra sighed, rubbing her eyes.  It had been a long, stressful day and she still wasn't completely certain what exactly had happened.  "Yes, well...that's not anything new, is it."

There was a violent crack of thunder to the south as the storm faded away, giving one last little show of defiance before the last of the clouds dissolved and vanished.

 

 

Akiah stared off to the south, hoping the boy king had made it, wherever he was going.  She had no idea what she was going to do now, herself...she couldn't go back to the Syl, her acts this day had been no less than traitorous and Jainah would no doubt be hunting for her.  If there was one thing she knew for certain, it was that Jainah could find her.

She turned to go back into the cave.  Aleks had left the little fire burning and she moved to stomp it out, bending over to pick up the bottle of wine he'd left behind.  Bor Vineyards.  She was just about to tip it up to finish it off when a little girl in a white nightgown appeared before her, the still air filling with a sensation of electrical disturbance and an almost inaudible popping sound.  Startled, she jumped and dropped the bottle.

The little girl giggled, picking it up and handing it back to her.

"Papa said you're to come back to the palace."

"Pa - Papa?"

"My daddy.  Loki.  He said to tell you you're to go there and wait for him, he's gone to get drunk and will be home later."  Before Akiah could ask any one of the seemingly thousands of questions whirling in her head, the little girl vanished, the popping sound louder this time and making her ears ring.

Unsure what she should do other than obey, she downed the rest of the bottle and then went outside to find her horse.

 

 

Aleks hit the ground with a jarring thud, the breath knocked out of him for a long moment while he gasped and struggled to suck in enough air to fill his lungs.  It had been a far longer journey between worlds this time than he was used to and he felt certain he'd lost consciousness at least once, based on the unsettled feeling in his stomach.  Sleipnir was nudging him with his nose, urging him to get up, but he couldn't hear any of the words he knew his brother must be speaking to him;  the trip had drained him, the concerted effort of opening pathway after pathway while holding an open link with the horse.  Sleip was much stronger than him, much older and more experienced.  But he doubted this trip had been easy on him, either.

He felt like his mind was broken.

And his pants were definitely on fire.

 _"Shit!"_  He rolled around in the dirt to put himself out, but this was voidflame from the empty space in between dimensions - notoriously difficult to extinguish, outrageously hot and, fortunately, slow burning.  He thrashed around on the ground while Sleipnir stepped over him and stood spread-legged, turning loose a flood of piss to drown the flames.  Aleks found himself doused top to toe in a matter of seconds, the fire mercifully sizzling to nothing.

"Lovely.  Yes, thank you.   _Fuck."_

The fire was out, there was that at least.  And he'd actually made it through the barriers fully clothed - though thanks to the fire and Sleipnir's extinguishing methods, his clothing wasn't much to brag about.  He looked around, wondering where exactly he was.

Nothing looked familiar.  But he knew what realm he was in, at least - he recognized the sounds of this world's energy, emanating from deep within the core of the planet.  It was a pulsating hum that he remembered from his last visit here, it made him feel a bit disoriented until his head and his Seidr adjusted to its presence.  He'd hoped to come out where he'd landed before, on the outskirts of the city Cara had told him was called San Diego, but he could neither see nor smell the ocean.  In fact, all he could see was dirt and sand and scrubby little plants with spikes, not at all welcoming and definitely not familiar.

"We're lost, brother."

Sleipnir tossed his head, shaking his muzzle angrily.  He had navigated half blind through at least seven dimensions and no fewer than a dozen voidspaces between worlds and he wasn't in the mood to find their way across this seeming wasteland without eating first.  He'd tried one of the prickly plants and found it not to his taste.

Aleks slung his hands to dry them, rubbing his palms on Sleip's coat before looking around, orienting himself, remembering that the sea was to the west.

"I suppose this is the part where we start trying to act like locals," he said quietly, staring off into the distance where a vehicle was speeding down a road, miles away.

 

 

Loki doubled over and smacked his forehead on the bar, shouting a particularly perverse curse as the sudden pain in his groin combined with the even more sudden pain in his head.  "That damn boy, he's going to be the fucking death of me, mark my words on this because I'm laying the entire kingdom on it!"

"The kingdom doesn't belong to you to be wagered, brother."  Thor was grinning drunkenly, lifting yet another tankard of mead to be drained down his gullet as he slapped Loki on the back, adding to his list of sudden discomforts.  "Need I remind you that you're not king?"

"Utter shit and you know it."

"No I don't know it, what I _do_ know - " the big god turned away from the bar unsteadily to stagger to a nearby table - "is that we helped the current king commit treason by opening a portal to a forbidden realm so that he could..."  He waved a hand around with a confused look on his face, searching for the right word.

"Abscond," Loki yelled from the bar, rolling his eyes.  "We helped him abscond, escape, shirk his duties, hit the road, he buggered off with our assistance."

"Yes, that."

"And now the kingship falls to the most qualified person in the room, basically," he added, joining Thor at the table, mead sloshing over his hand as he slammed his mug down in front of him.  "We're at a state of emergency, brother - Asgard has never been without a ruler for more than a few minutes, I think the last time was when Father decided to take an unscheduled Odinsleep while I was working through some teen angst and mother gave me the throne like a half an hour later."

"Is that what happened?  I was out of town, I never knew what went on."

"You were on Earth, dipshit.  Banging that girl, what was her name?"

"Jane."

"Yes, Jane.  Whatever happened to her?"

"It was centuries ago, Loki.  She was human."

"Oh...yes."  Loki looked sad for a moment, then raised his tankard.  "To Jane."

Thor raised his own, nodding solemnly.

"To Jane."

 

 

The car blasted past the young man walking along the side of the road, his clothing ragged and dirty, a broken-down looking horse dragging along behind him.  Pulling over and stopping a little ways ahead of them, the driver leaned his head out the window and looked back, finally waving them up when it became obvious the pair couldn't be dangerous.  Nobody who looked that forlorn could be a threat.

"You need a lift?"

Aleks looked back at Sleipnir, his apprehension fading when he saw the charm still holding.  He wasn't sure how his Seidr would react with this world's electromagnetic pulses, but the illusion around his brother was still in place.  Sleip was in possession of about four legs too many and was much larger than Earth's equines, so in the interest of not drawing disbelieving attention from the locals, he had made the horse appear smaller, minus a few limbs, and decidedly less regal looking.  He hoped Sleipnir wouldn't catch a glimpse of his reflection in anything...he was a proud creature, vain like their father, and being presented as a ragged work horse was just a bit much for him to take willingly.

 _Easy Brother_  Aleks comforted him silently when he shied away from the vehicle's loud engine noise.   _Stay here and let me find out where we are._

"I do, but my horse - I can't leave him."

The driver looked back, raising an eyebrow in the horse's direction.  "I'd ask why you're not riding him, but he looks like his back would snap."

Sleipnir cursed fiercely, but to the human's ears it sounded like a tired snort.  "He's old," Aleks explained, not lying in the least.  "Can you tell me how close we are to San Diego?"

"You're about four hours away, by this highway right here."  He looked back at the horse again.  "If you want to pasture him over there off the road, I've got a neighbor with a horse trailer you can probably borrow.  You'd have to find your own transportation back here though."

Aleks looked toward where the man had pointed;  there were a few trees near what looked like an abandoned barn.  "Let me run him over there, I'll be right back."

 

When they were far enough away that they wouldn't be overheard, Aleks patted Sleipnir's neck and put his mouth near his ear to speak to him.  "Can you get back to Asgard alone?"

_Yes.  Go and find your way, little brother._

He hugged the ancient horse, his eyes stinging a little, though he was hard pressed to determine whether it was from the dusty desert air or the fact that this would, in all likelihood, be the last time they ever saw each other.

"Thank you, Sleip.  Be careful.  Wait until we're out of sight before you do anything mystical, alright?"

A snorting whinny met his ears over the arid wind as a wet tongue planted a slobbering show of affection up his cheek.  The man in the car honked the horn, urging them to wrap up their farewells so they could get going.

Aleks gave Sleipnir one last pat on the flank as he turned and walked away, his breath choking in his throat for just a moment as he heard his brother's voice in his head.

_Thank you for the adventure, little king.  I'll tell Father you're safe._

 

 

Thor opened one eye and peered groggily at the woman standing next to the table where he and Loki had been drinking, but were now in various states of alcohol-induced semi-consciousness.  He had let his head fall back and was dozing, snoring loudly, when the sensation of being watched brought him out of his stupor and made him sit straight at attention.

"My Lady!  Why are you - what are you - um, excuse me for a moment."

Punching Loki on the shoulder, he stood respectfully, or as close to respectful as he could manage in his heavily inebriated state.  Loki was asleep across the table on his back, his legs hanging off one side and his head off the other.  He grumbled when Thor punched him, cursing lewdly as he rolled over and sat up.  Squinting unhappily, he blinked hard several times until his eyes cleared enough to make out who was staring at him.

"Oh.  Hello darling."

Lyra stood silent, hands on her hips, her expression not quite disapproval and not quite sympathy, but stuck somewhere in between the two.  She knew Loki had had a rough day, they all had.  But Asgard was currently without rulership and he was the closest thing they had to a qualified substitute unless she decided to go sit on the throne herself.

"Time to go home, Sire."

Thor giggled, covering his face with his hand when Lyra's scolding gaze fell to him.  She knew the big lout had played an important and probably indispensable part in the day's proceedings and she had nothing but warm feelings for him, but in this state he was mostly useless.  She needed him and Loki both sober and functioning, as soon as possible...Asgard was always on the verge of war with some ridiculous kingdom somewhere, and all it would take would be one rumor of the absent monarch to bring unfriendly neighbors kicking in the city gates.  Tugging her husband toward the edge of the table to set his feet on the floor and get him moving, Lyra slapped Thor's shoulder and gave him a stern look.  He jumped to action, pulling Loki's arm around his neck to haul him to a somewhat standing position just as the tavern barkeep came over, getting up in Lyra's face with an angry expression.  He didn't take kindly to wives and ladyfriends herding the customers out before they'd paid.

"Who do you think you are?" he asked rudely, standing in front of her with his arms crossed, blocking her from leaving.  Lyra sighed loudly and was about to tell the man off when she saw Loki's face spread into a wide grin, full of malice and mischief and all the devious trickery the universe could handle.

_"She's the fucking Queen, bitch."_

 

 

To be continued...

 


	15. Glitch

 

 

 

 

 

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Beep..._

The girl sighed, hitting the enter key twice before the program finally responded and the beeping stopped.  The alert flashing at the bottom of the screen was telling her a lie and she ignored it, but it required her input to shut it off so she tapped in her lab code, pulling up the alert notice to see what was going on this time.  

_Perimeter breach._

Yeah right.  A flashing red dot on a map of San Diego and the outlying areas was claiming a breach fifty full miles away from the point of origin.   _That's one hell of a malfunction._

"Everything okay?  God that's annoying."  A red haired woman was standing behind where she sat, bouncing a baby on her hip.

"Yeah, just a glitch.  It says one of the wolves is out of its pen."

"Are you sure it's a glitch?  We don't need your dad running through the streets tracking one of those things by scent."

"Oh god.  He would, too."

The light kept flashing despite her inputting the false alarm code, which was confusing - the tracking devices malfunctioned at least once a week, insisting that Freya or Bane or one of the others were loose somewhere beyond the limit of their enclosure.  She knew they were sleeping, lazy beasts, settled in for their afternoon nap after filling their bellies with meat they didn't have to hunt for.  There was no reason for her to think for a second that one of them might have actually taken it upon themselves to dig under the fence and head for the hills.  The chips implanted in the backs of their necks were programmed to send an alert the moment one of them crossed the perimeter, to a distance of fifty miles...and they were very sensitive.  The flashing red dot was registering at the very edge of the distance limit and hadn't gone off before getting to that point, so she _knew_ it was a false alarm - it didn't go off when the perimeter was first crossed, and was now beeping at a location far outside of town.  Wolves didn't fly.

 _Okay, so which one's malfunctioning this time?_ A click on the flashing red dot brought up the wolf's ID in an annoyingly obtrusive pop up.

The girl stared at it, sitting up quickly, nearly knocking the laptop to the floor.

No way...

_Lobo._

 

 

Aleks rubbed at the back of his neck, a mild prickling sensation irritating him just under the skin below his hairline.  Cara had implanted him with one of the tracking devices that they used for the wolves at the research facility, just before he'd returned to Asgard. _In case you come back one day,_ she'd said.   _I'll be able to find you._ The odd electrical buzz made his teeth feel funny and he wondered if maybe it was sending out a signal.  Was he close enough for it to work?

Pulling his stare away from the yard sale fliers and missing child posters that papered the wall in front of him, he watched another bus pull into the station, wondering if he should see about getting on one for the final leg of his journey.  He knew he was getting close to where he needed to be, but he'd observed enough people coming and going through the terminal to know that he would need currency of some kind to purchase a ride.  He had nothing except the illusion he was wearing.

_I'll be able to find you._

He sat back and closed his eyes for a quick nap, tired from his long trek across the cosmos.  The man who'd picked him up in the desert had brought him this far, given him his address and phone number in case he wanted to rent his neighbor's horse trailer to go back for Sleipnir, and then gone on his way to take care of business in a nearby town.  There was really nothing for him to do now but wait and see if Cara was aware of his presence yet.

He hoped Sleip had made it home safely.  It had taken a tremendous amount of power and effort to get them to Earth, most of which had come from the old Worldwalker, and though it would take far less to get back - the dimensional blockades were set to keep them away from _Earth,_ not the other way around - he knew the aching exhaustion in his bones must be far worse for his ancient brother.

As he dozed off, rubbing at the back of his neck trying to soothe that strange vibrating buzz, he felt the planet's magnetic pull scrambling his thoughts...and wondered blankly why one of the children on one of the many old, yellowing missing-child posters looked so much like Cara.

 

 

Akiah waited nervously in the courtyard of the palace, surrounded by an army of little dark haired girls who all seemed to be watching her closely.  It was unnerving, all those keen emerald eyes trained intently on her, and she wondered briefly if she was a prisoner and they her jailers.  But she had come here of her own free will, hoping to find grace or favor with the family of the king.  Loki himself had ordered her to come and wait for him.   _He is likely king now.  Is he to try me for treason?_

She wasn't a citizen of this realm, but she had been directly involved in a plot to entrap the king.  That couldn't go overlooked.  She had no idea where Jainah was now, but she hoped - for her own sake as much as anyone else's - that she was far away and still running.

"Don't be afraid.  Papa knows who you are."

She tilted her head at the little girl, a question in her eyes.  The child raised one hand and turned it to show her the backs of her fingers.  They were turning blue, the color racing quickly up to her wrist as she grinned wickedly, reaching out to grasp Akiah's arm.

The Syl watched in rapt fascination and no small amount of horror as her arm turned the same color as the girl's hand.

"There's a reason why your name starts with an A," she giggled, letting go and turning to dance away, skipping around the fountain happily.

 

 

"I'm not ruling Asgard and that's final, Loki."

Lyra pushed her husband's head under the falling water of the shower, ignoring his complaints about it being too warm, attempting to sober him up enough to walk without falling into the throne room to address his guest.  The Syl girl had been waiting for hours, patiently sitting in the courtyard with the children, declining all invitations to enter the palace or accept food or drink.

"I don't know why not, the kingdom loves you."

"I have no aspirations of rulership, Husband.  My only aspirations are to keep you out of trouble as much as possible and prevent you from killing our son."

Loki scowled as she grabbed a handful of his hair, shoving his face under the icy stream again.  He wasn't sure if he was entirely sober yet, but his mood was definitely declining.

"Well Thor doesn't want it and I don't want it.  We can't go adventuring any more if you or I are sitting on the throne."  He swiped the water out of his eyes with the backs of his hands and grimaced as his wife scrubbed at his hair with a towel.  "Do we have any other sons?"

"You know we don't."

"Are we sure?"

"We're sure."

Loki sighed, then chuckled mischievously, a grin tugging at his lips as he slipped a hand over Lyra's hip, drawing her to him.

"Well, I suppose we'd best get busy then.  Sooner or later another one's got to come out male, right?"

 

 

Cara stood outside the enclosure, counting the wolves for the third time just to be sure.  There was no mistake, they were all there.

_He's back._

Breaking into a wide grin, she pulled her phone out and dialed a number, winking at one of the wolves that had edged over to the fence to stare at her. 

"Hey Pop, could you run me out to Los Rios?  I need to pick up a friend that just got into town."

"I'm working today grandgirl, I'm in Del Mar.  Can you get Ewan?"

"Are you kidding?  I'm not sitting in a car with him for an hour."

There was a chuckle followed by a pause.

"Let me see what I can do, okay?  I'll call you back."

She closed her phone and sat down next to the gate, the same spot she'd been standing in the first time she'd seen the king.  Of course he'd been a wolf at the time, dropping to his hands and knees and morphing right in front of her before he realized she was there.  The wolves were congregating along the fence line watching her, heads cocked as if they knew something was going on.

"You guys can sense him, can't you?"

There were a few high pitched whines and a yipping bark from the pack's Alpha, the big male that had taken a bite out of Aleks' ankle that day after a mad chase around the enclosure.

"Yeah, you remember him.  He tasted good, huh?"

Her phone buzzed and she popped it open to a text. _Be there to get you in 20._

She took a deep breath, suddenly overwhelmingly excited, and the wolves began pacing the fence line as they sensed the spike in her emotions.

The king was back.

 _Her_ king.

 

 

Loki strode into the courtyard, one of Frigga's old home recipes for hangover cure working wonders for his groggy head.  Clapping his hands loudly, he grinned a wide, happy grin when all the little girls that had been playing around the fountain turned and came running, some of them jumping into his arms, others climbing up onto his back.  The oldest two hung back, giving him scolding looks;  his escapades had once again pulled them away from their own lives and families and he rolled his eyes, dismissing them both with a shake of his head.  One blinked into nothingness with a snap of her fingers and the other simply turned and walked away.  Akiah watched with fascination, standing silently at a distance.

"So, the last of the _noble_ Syl graces us with her solo presence at last."

She didn't know what he meant, but she bowed respectfully and averted her eyes as he kissed one of the girls on the cheek and set her down, sending her off to play with the others that were jumping off of him in a flurry of dark hair and bare feet and white cotton nightgowns.  It was late in the day and she wondered briefly why none of them were dressed.  Even the older girls had been in their night clothes and bare feet.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, for the...atrocities...that I was involved in."

Loki waved dismissively, walking over to the fountain to sit.  "Don't worry about that, it's all been sorted.  And you weren't actually an informed partner in any of it, were you?"  He waited for her to look at him and gave her a gentle smile when she did.  "Jainah has always been notorious for her skullduggery and less than honest spins on half truths and legends.  Once upon a time she even pulled the wool over _my_ eyes, though I'm loathe to admit it."  There was a half amused scowl as he shook his head, groaning at the memory.  "But that's all in the past and so is what happened here.  And I'm willing to bet my kingdom that you've got questions you're simply dying to ask me."

Akiah was still standing at a distance, though her apprehension was beginning to lessen the more Loki spoke.  There was a comforting quality to his voice, something that made her trust him.

"I do, Your Highness."

"Oh don't call me that, please.  We currently have no ruler, we're sort of in a holding pattern at the moment while we figure out what to do.  I'm personally holding out for anarchy, but my brother thinks a  constitutional oligarchy is the way to go."  He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, falling silent for a moment before looking at Akiah again.  "I don't suppose you have any opinions on it?"

The Syl stared at him in shock, unsure how she should respond.  "I...I have no opinion, Sir - I wouldn't dare to presume that I have any right to input on matters concerning your - "

"Oh stop, don't tell me you haven't figured it out yet."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You're smarter than this, you have to be."  He gave her a sideways look, perusing her carefully.  "I haven't sired a halfwit yet in all my many forays into fatherhood and I refuse to believe Jainah's genetics watered mine down enough to adversely affect your intelligence to this degree."  He waited a moment, then shook his head again with an indulgent sigh.  "Go ahead, ask your questions."

Akiah had no idea what he was on about - the former king talked far too much and in confusing circles that spun around her head, just beyond her grasp of knowledge.  It was maddening, but there was a playfulness about him that kept her from feeling anger toward his flippancy.  Skipping what he'd just said, she went with the question that was bothering her the most.

"The prophecy, is it completely untrue?"

"Yes.  Well, mostly.  A long time ago it held some truth, but at this point in time it's simply a fanciful story easily twisted to suit a selfish purpose."  Loki's eyebrows shot up suddenly and he groaned, covering his face with one hand.  "You didn't sleep with Aleks, did you?"

"No Sir, I didn't."

"Oh good, that would have been a tough one.  He's your brother, you know.  Although apparently Syl don't care much about that sort of thing but it might have been uncomfortable at family get togethers for a while."

"Excuse me?"   _Brother - ?_  She had no brothers that she knew of, the Syl were mostly female and -

"Oh for fuck's sake child, are you even paying attention?"  Loki got up suddenly, striding quickly over to her before she could step away.  "Lower your hood, let me see what you've got hidden under there."

She stared at him hesitantly before finally removing the hood of her cloak.  He laughed chidingly once it was down, revealing long crimson hair and pale skin, typical physical traits of any textbook Syl.  "An illusory charm?  Really, sweetheart?  Do you really think I wouldn't see through that?"  The amusement left his face and was replaced with a stern look of authority.  "Drop it, Akiah.  Show me your true self."

"There is nothing to reveal, Sir - "

"Don't think I can't make you," Loki said quietly, tipping his head down to give her a menacing look that he knew would spur her to obedience.  To prove his point further he grasped her wrist, pulling her hand up between their faces, a slow grin coming to his lips at just about the same speed as the deep blue that crept up both their arms.  Akiah cried out, yanking her hand away.  This was twice now that contact with a Laufeyson had turned her skin blue.

 _The sorcerer's tainted touch._  But Loki was shaking his head slowly, wordless for once, allowing her to come to the realization on her own.

"I - I don't know why that happened - "

"Drop the illusion, Akiah.  Trust me, I know.  I did the same for my entire childhood until I forgot what it was I was hiding and believed myself to _be_ the illusion."  Staring her in the eyes, he dropped his own cloaking charm, revealing his true self - blue, horned, marked, red eyed.  Akiah gasped and stepped back in fear as he shot up another foot in height, towering menacingly over her...but there was an endearing smile curling the corners of the deep blue lips, and the red eyes sparked with a familiar mischief.

"You're...Jotun?"

"Of course.  Though I prefer the term Frost Giant, it sounds more impressive."

_"Loki!"_

The god jumped and spun around, his eyes flitting around the courtyard trying to locate the familiar voice that seemed to be coming from nowhere.  "Shit, the wife's found me.  Yes, darling?"

"Up here.  And the next time you claim no one can sneak up on you I'm going to remind you of this day."  Lyra was on the balcony above them, leaning over with a disapproving scowl on her face.  "If you don't tell that girl right this instant why she's here I'm going to come down there and do it myself.  You've been toying with her for far too long."

Akiah looked at Loki while Loki looked at Lyra, spreading his arms wide and blowing a kiss up to her.  "Anything you say, my love."  There was a snort of scoffing derision from the balcony and Lyra disappeared again, leaving Loki chuckling and the Syl more confused than before.

"Tell me what?" she finally ventured, tiring of the verbal ring-around-the-rosy that Loki was obviously playing with her.  He had reverted back to his normal form and appeared as himself again, a handsome dark haired man whose resemblance to the girls playing nearby was uncanny.  And Aleks...the elder Laufeyson could be the Wolf King's twin, older and more weathered for certain, but at first glance they could easily pass for one another.  And then there was his Jotun form...he had been the same color as the child who had shown her her blue hand.

And now her own...

_Drop it, Akiah.  Show me your true self._

Closing her eyes, she cleared her mind, letting the image of herself that she was familiar with shift and fall till a sheen of red veiled her vision for just a moment.  When it cleared, she opened her eyes and looked at Loki, who smiled warmly and nodded.

"There you are."  He tipped his head toward the still water in the fountain, urging her to look at herself.  The face that stared back at her when she obeyed - dark blue, with blood red eyes and horns sprouting from its forehead - was shocking, but didn't seem wrong somehow.  Another face, strikingly similar, appeared in the reflection next to hers.  Loki had shifted back again and was standing next to her.

"Welcome home, Akiah."  He winked and turned to walk away, quickly shifting back to his man form again, muttering to himself as he headed toward the palace.  "Just what I needed, another damn daughter.  Where are my fucking Y chromosomes?  Don't tell me I gave them all to Aleks because that boy is a disgrace, who's going to rule this damn place now while he's off on his intergalactic booty call?"  He stopped just shy of the entryway and turned to look back at her.  "You'd best come with me, meet the rest of the family."  When she didn't immediately follow, he made an impatient sweeping gesture toward the huge gilded doorway and snapped his fingers.  "Come on, don't be afraid."

"Is Jainah my mother?" she called out suddenly, bringing an amused look to Loki's face.  He nodded.  "And you - you're my father?"  Another nod, his grin widening.

"Now you're getting it.  You're not as thick as you seem."

She looked at her hand, watching with rapt interest as the blue crept back up her sleeve, leaving behind the pale skin that she was used to.  Loki was observing from the doorway, obviously growing impatient, but no longer trying to rush her.

"And what am I to do now?"

Breaking into loud laughter as the four remaining girls came running at him, Loki hefted two of them up off the ground and turned to enter the palace with them slung over his shoulders, giggling.  "Now you come and learn everybody's names, but I'm afraid you'll have to get someone else to confirm they're not lying to you because I can't remember any of them.  All I know is that for some reason they all begin with A."

Akiah blinked, thinking back to what the girl had said to her.

_There's a reason why your name starts with an A._

Slowly allowing a tentative smile to cross her face for the first time since arriving in Asgard, she started to pull her hood up but stopped, letting it drop over her shoulders, and followed Loki and the girls into the palace.

 

 

Cara glanced into the back seat, an excited smile just barely hidden as she noticed Aleks' illusion was slipping.  He was asleep, his head against the window, snoring softly as his clothing morphed back and forth from jeans and a tee shirt to leather breeches and silk tunic, which were curiously scorched and heavily stained.  She turned back around in her seat and caught her grandfather looking at her, one eyebrow cocked the same way her dad always did when he had a question to ask.

"What?"

Pop checked the sleeping boy in the rear view mirror;  he'd noticed the strangely altered clothing as well, flitting back and forth like a glitching hologram, but hadn't said anything.  There was a big universe beyond what humans could eavesdrop on with their telescopes, and he'd never really been one for questioning the unusual so much as just accepting it and finding a way to live around it.  He pointed toward the back seat with his thumb.

"He's not from around here, is he?"

 

 

_To be continued..._


	16. Done Deed

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heimdall stared up at the night sky, dappled with pinks and blues and golds, shimmering auras of souls that he alone could see.  There were so many it was sometimes overwhelming, even to him.  After a long while he nodded and turned to the man standing silently behind him.

"He is alive, though with the barriers up I cannot verify as to his well being.  I've never been able to see the boy, but Midgard's planetary composition is creating an interference with his Seidr.  I _can_ see that."

Thor smiled, his own eyes scanning the sparkling sky.  "So long as he's alive, the rest is up to him."

The ancient Gatekeeper gave the old god a sideways look, amused but doing an admirable job of hiding it behind a dour look of stern disapproval.

"He's not planning an overthrow like his father attempted, is he?"

A booming laugh echoed through the observatory as Thor turned to leave, his long cape flying behind him as he hurried to the vaulted doorway.  "Yes he is, actually - but of just one person, not the entire planet."

As the doors fell shut behind him, Heimdall stared after his friend for a long while before finally shaking his head.

"Well that doesn't sound too bad."

 

 

Anja put the baby into Aleks' arms and answered her phone, walking a few steps away so that the caller couldn't hear the other voices in the room.  Cara heard her giggling and knew the caller was her dad;  the two of them couldn't be apart for more than a couple of hours before one or the other of them started making suggestive phone calls, and normally it made her roll her eyes in mock disgust.

But not so much lately.

Because lately she'd been getting phonecalls herself, from an ancient young man who had just learned how to use a phone.  And though she would never presume to know what sort of verbal hijinks her parents got up to when Anja's cheeks turned pink and that half-embarrassed, half-excited giggle broke past her hand as she tried to muffle it behind her fingers, she did know one thing.

There wasn't much better than the things Aleks said to her when he called.

"Mom," she mouthed, getting Anja's attention, making the shape of a box with her fingers when she looked at her.  Anja nodded, pointing toward the bedroom.

"They remind me a bit of my parents," Aleks said with a chuckle as he followed Cara down the hall, swinging the baby gently, laughing at the startled face she made each time he raised her up into the air.  "The presence of noisy little souls doesn't inhibit their romantic inclinations."

"Oh I'm afraid you're mistaken, there's not a lot of romance with those two.  They're like porn stars, with kids."

Aleks jiggled the baby, cooing in her face.  "Naw, you're the mistaken one.  They have the purest form of romance, the kind that doesn't limit itself.  Their souls are free because they're bound by each other."

Cara looked at him, a thoughtful expression settling on her face as she thought about what he said.  He'd been on Earth for less than a week and he already had so many things figured out.  But thus far his interaction with her had been limited to a few sweet kisses and some suggestive conversations late at night once she got him a phone - but other than that, he treated her as if they were courting.

 _Courting._  Such a strange word, an even stranger concept.  It seemed to suit them, oddly enough, but as she opened the drawer on the bedside table and took out the little box Anja had told her she could have, she looked over at the handsome young man sitting on the edge of the bed and knew the connection between them wasn't in her imagination.  He turned and smiled at her as he rubbed the baby's tummy.

"Find what you came for?"

She nodded, holding the box up, though the blank expression on his face told her he had no idea what he was looking at.

"You know, you've been here for four days and you haven't even suggested it yet."

The smile on his face turned to confusion.  "Suggested?"

"Yeah."

"Suggested what?"

Cara's eyes fell to the bed Aleks was sitting on - the cursed babymaker, her parents' bed - and as he followed her eyes he realized what she was referring to.  Covering the baby's ears with his hands, he lowered his voice to a stage whisper.  "Are you talking about sex?"

"Yep."

"I...I wasn't sure you would...want..."

"You weren't sure I would want to have sex with the guy I've been saving it for?"

His eyebrows went up and Cara almost laughed at the comical shock registered in his face.  She knew he was young, but he wasn't _that_ young...he'd told her three hundred or so in Asgardian years was the equivalent of a young adult on Earth and she guessed him to be anywhere between twenty and twenty-five by human standards, but there was something innocent about him that ran so alluringly incongruous to the sharp edge of experience that she could see in his eyes.  He'd obviously seen and done a lot...but according to him, there was just one thing he hadn't done yet.

A grin, sweet but with the slightest taint of perversity, was slowly spreading across his lips.

"You've been saving it for me?"

"Of course I have.  It's not every day a girl gets to lose her virginity to a king."

"I'm afraid I'm not a king anymore."

Coming around the bed, Cara took a handful of his jacket and pulled him to his feet, carefully avoiding touching the blanket or mattress or anything on the bed itself.  It might be a silly superstition, but chances were chances and she had no interest in taking any.

"Not even a prince?"

"Afraid not.  And I've probably been disowned by now as well.  Disavowed by the council, erased from the history books...there may even be a bounty on my head."

Cara grinned, tugging him toward her to plant a soft kiss on his lips.  "Good - because apparently I'm some sort of a Cree princess and I wouldn't want your royal blood overshadowing mine."

Aleks reached up to tangle his fingers in her hair, keeping her from pulling away as he took over the kiss and deepened it.  "Well...in that case, Your Highness..."

 

 

Sleipnir wandered the realms, not quite ready to return yet to his quiet life of grazing in the orchards and dozing through the warm Asgardian afternoons.  It had been a long time since he'd tasted adventure, and his mad trot across the universe with his baby brother had awakened that long-slumbering need to see new things.  He'd heard of a realm where a dragon queen ruled the skies, in another place and another time, locked off and sealed;  the story was a legend from another lifetime that wasn't his, but the edges of the myriad realities of the cosmos were constantly tearing, bleeding their secrets, leaking into other spaces to be overheard as dreams and nightmares.  But there were whispers of it among the birds that nested in the royal forest, winged creatures that crossed the barriers of time and space, and he listened to them.

 _She is real,_ they sang.   _She is beautiful, the most majestic of all the avian.  And she has borne a son more powerful than herself, a time crosser._

 _And who is this time crosser's sire?_ he had asked, curiosity bringing him to press for details of the fanciful tale.   _Who could tame such a beast as the queen enough to love her?_

 _A sorcerer_  the birds had sang, flitting from tree to tree as he trotted along beneath them, anxious to catch every word. _The one who fell before he rose._

The whispers he'd heard through the cracks in time, the familiarity he'd sensed in the words, they'd been true after all.  He knew he'd recognized at least one of the voices that had slipped across the eons into his dreams.

There's just something about one's own father that can't be mistaken, no matter how many echoes carry their ghost to you.

He braced himself for the bumpy trip across the ancient barrier, ignoring the timelock his grandfather had set so long ago, in another time, in another reality, excited to walk the world that Eira ruled.

 

 

"Wait wait wait -"

Aleks pulled his head up, a questioning look breaking through the desire.  "What is it?"

"I want you wear this," Cara said as she pushed her hand into her pocket, tugging out a little square packet.  "It's called a condom and it will keep me from getting pregnant."

"Why would you want to keep from getting pregnant?"

She laughed, reaching down to ease his zipper down.  "We view progeny differently here, remember?  And I'm only eighteen, parenthood is the absolute last thing on my list of to-dos at this point in my life."

"Of course."

He looked down between them as Cara opened his pants and eased him out;  he reached down with one hand to push his jeans down below his hips, kissing her as she worked at getting the condom onto him.  Her touch made him groan with want and he felt himself stiffen.

"Cara...are you certain you want to do this?"

The girl nodded, a smile lighting her dark blue eyes.  He didn't see any doubt there, only a happy excitement that seemed to match what he was feeling himself.  There had been many girls, women, all ages and types from nobility, princesses, kings' daughters and even a queen or two, all the way down to scullery girls and chamber maids.  He found none of them any more special than the rest, no matter their position or title - he had enjoyed them all equally, and each of them in turn had taught him something, a bit of knowledge that he practiced into skill.

From a Sultana he'd learned how to bring a female to orgasm with his tongue, while a palace concubine schooled him in the various ways that pleasure could be gotten, as well as given, with the fingers of one hand.  And a laundry maid had taught him to kiss, not just a simple meeting of lips, but how to touch a woman's soul while sharing her breath.

He'd been touched, stroked, sucked...but never had he been inside a woman, other than his fingers or tongue.

And now this beautiful creature was tugging her shirt off over her head and smiling at him with all the unspoken permission he would ever need.

But still he asked.

"May I make love to you, Cara?"

"You'd better," she said easily, tossing her shirt to the end of the bed.  "I had to ask my mom for that condom."

 _Ah, the little box._  Aleks suddenly remembered what she'd said on his first visit, about her father being both intensely protective and adept with knives.  "Your father - he's not going to kill me for this, is he?"

Cara was kissing his neck, distracting his thoughts as she moved against him, but the former king of Asgard was, if anything, a survivor.  It was a messy survival more often than not, but still, his own father's advice rung loudly in his head.   _If you can't win, retreat and fight again when you've recouped.  And if you still can't win, fight dirty and show them your ass on your way out._

"No, he won't.  His big thing is being responsible."  She slipped her hand down between them and tapped his safely wrapped shaft, making his eyes close and his breath catch in his throat.  "This is responsibility, and it's the first thing he's gonna ask me when I tell him."

The whole _when I tell him_ part sat uneasy on his nerves, but the girl was stroking him intently, letting him know without question that she was ready for him.  In a swift motion that put her on her back and him on top of her, he settled his weight on her hips and kissed her.

"You know you're my true first, don't you?"

She nodded, a reassuring smile breaking across her face.  "Yeah, I got that.  You're mine too."  Nudging him off her, she quickly removed her jeans and panties and chucked them off the end of the bed, settling back onto the pillows as Aleks divested himself of his own clothing.  He felt strange... _nervous_ almost, which seemed unlikely based on his proclivity toward proving he was Loki Laufeyson's son at every appropriate opportunity.  He'd bedded damn near every eligible female of age in Asgard and several kingdoms beyond, but _this_ \- he was about to rid himself of something he'd carefully guarded for so long that he'd never really considered the fact that one day it would actually happen.

And it was happening now, with this girl, this human, this being that he suddenly realized he would happily claim mortality for if the Norns demanded it in recompense for his defection.  There was no place else he wanted to be.

Pushing her legs apart, he dipped into her, slowly at first, withdrawing fully with each thrust until he no longer felt resistance and the girl relaxed under him.

 _"Fuck,"_ he groaned, marveling at the softness of her inner walls, the moist heat that lapped around him, the gentle tug of her muscles pulling at him as he moved in and out slowly.  He'd slipped his fingers into many a maid's private bits, even deflowered a few virgins that way, but this - this was new, this was _good,_ better than all the other indulgences he'd afforded himself with the fairer sex.

_No wonder Papa keeps Mother pregnant._

 

 

To be continued...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Art credit for this chapter (both images) - the fantastic @vivianstark!**


	17. The Conclusion of The Matter

 

 

 

 

"Ahh...oh shit...hold on - "

_The link.  The dad-damned link, how can he do that past the fucking barrier?_    Aleks groaned, trying to shut down the rapidly widening blank space in his mind that was giving itself over to the rising bliss of losing himself in Cara's warmth - a blank space that raced across the expanse of the universe to let his father eavesdrop on him.  It was a safety net for a reckless child, but now it was proving to be an unintentional invasion of privacy and he straightened his elbows, pulling himself away from the girl.  "I need a second."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just...my father...we have this connection, when my mind goes quiet it sort of automatically reports in with him."

Cara laughed softly, reaching up to tangle her fingers in his long hair.  "Well that's awkward."  She tugged him down to kiss his brow.  "Your mind's gone quiet?"

"Yeah, I was...you know, getting sort of close."

"Wait - you mean when you come, your dad is going to know it?"

"Unfortunately yes."  The boy king grimaced, hearing the faint echoing whispers of The Trickster God's furiously colorful cursing on the edge of his consciousness.  "The redeeming aspect of this curse, however, is that he says it gives him a shooting pain through the gonads."

Cara slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle an outburst of laughter.  "That's _excellent._  I'd be willing to deal with being linked to my dad if he doubled over with nut pain every time I got off.  My mom would get a kick out of it."

Lowering his head to hers, Aleks nudged her lips with his own to quiet her.  "Shhhh...lets not discuss our parents while we're fucking, it's a bit non-conducive to the appropriate mood."

The girl nodded, her dark blue eyes sparkling with something that warmed him, something both familiar and new...a mischievousness mixed with a pure sort of lust, like adoration blended into a shaker of desire and stirred gently.

"Agreed."

 

 

"Oh holy hell."

Loki groaned, both hands going to his groin as his knees came up in that reflexive action that makes a person ball up into themselves once they've been kicked in an attempt to protect their soft bits from the next blow.  Lyra looked up from her reading with barely a concerned lift to one eyebrow.

"Is it Aleks?"

"Yesss...fuck.  Odin's grandfather's _goddamn beernuts!!"_

"Oh darling, you're just making things up now."

"I don't care, this fucking _smarts."_

"Well, it does seem a bit more intense than usual.  Is he alright?"

Loki rolled over onto his back and unwound his limbs from around himself.  "He won't be if he ever comes back home again.  The little shit."  His breathing was beginning to slow and he scrubbed at his face with his hands before sitting up with a groan.  "If there was any shred of truth left to that prophecy, he's blasted it to hell and back now."

Lyra smiled knowingly, turning her attention back to her book as her husband got up off the floor and staggered over to the balcony.  He was getting up there in years, but he was still the man she loved, perversely handsome and recklessly brave and always, always, able to make her smile like no one ever had.  And ridiculously devoted, to her and to their children, no matter how mightily he might complain about them being pains in his various parts.  She watched him turn his face up to the night sky and remembered how he was, long ago, all darkness overflowing from a twisted, bitter soul.  But after their children started being born something in him changed, the darkness softened its edges and allowed the light to spill in around it till the opposing sides filled him in equal measures.  With one to balance out the other, neither overtook him anymore, and now he was simply Loki - her lover, husband, and Papa to their children.

"Do you remember when you used to come to me as a wolf?"

Loki turned his head, glancing back at her over his shoulder.

"It's been a while, hasn't it."

Not another word was said between them as he dropped, his hands and feet already paws before they even touched the cool stone floor, a low rumbling growl vibrating in his throat as he padded over to her to lay his head on her lap.  Lyra scratched his ears, letting him lick her hand.

"My king."

 

 

Aleks twitched his fingers, setting loose three gold-tinged emerald spheres that drifted lazily to the ceiling like bubbles on the breeze before floating slowly downward.  Cara blew one of the spheres away as it bobbed drunkenly around her face, shooting him an annoyed look.  A genuine laugh erupted from his lips as he waved his hand, the floating spheres dissolving into nothingness above his head.

"I don't know how much longer I'll have powers, there's something about this planet's magnetic output that seems to be tampering with my Seidr."  He didn't appear the least bit saddened by the prospect of losing his abilities, turning a wide smile to Cara as he shifted to slip his arm under her head.  "No longer a king and now no longer a god.  I'm afraid I don't have much left to offer you."

"Wolf boy, I think you'll find I don't need either a king or a god.  I don't need much of anything."  Kissing the underside of his chin, she snuggled in closer under his arm.  "I don't even need _you,_ strictly speaking...but need and want are two entirely different things, and I'll confess to being possessed of a mighty want."

"You're a brutally honest creature, aren't you?  Which, I might add, I find immensely refreshing - my father is the God of Lies and I grew up having to second guess literally everything the man said."

Cara groaned, tugging the sheet up over her face.  "Speaking of fathers..."  Lowering it to peek out at him, she gave him a scrutinizing stare.  "Does your hair mean anything important to you?"

He pulled an inky black strand down over one eye, then flicked it away.  "No, not really.  Just customary for the men of my world, I guess."

Reaching up, Cara gathered his dark long hair into one hand and pulled it to the side.  "Well my dad has long hair and I'd hate to give him the creepy idea that I chose a guy who reminds me of him, so - "  Sitting up, she gave him a push to get him moving.  "Into the bathroom with you."

 

Aleks obeyed, standing still at the sink while she cut his hair, smiling at himself in the mirror once the deed was done.  His new self, in his new life.  Cara slipped her arms around his middle and rested her chin on his shoulder, her reflection grinning at him as she put the scissors down on the countertop.

"Now you look like a respectable earth boy." 

 

 

"Dad, I want you to meet somebody."

The tall man turned around, smiling broadly at his daughter as he slung a bar towel over his shoulder and set down the bottle he'd just poured.  His eyes went past her to the young man behind her and he slugged back a shot of whiskey, shaking off the burn with a flinching hiss.

"So you're the one been using my condoms huh?"

A cough from the other end of the bar turned everyone's heads;  Pop was sitting on the last stool, rubbing his face and trying not to laugh.  "Smooth, son."

Aleks shoved his hand out and Tom looked down at it, obviously thinking but it was anyone's guess as to what about.  There was a long tense moment during which a tall, burly blond man came up behind him and stood drying a glass, his eyes moving watchfully between the two until Tom finally nodded and shook Aleks' hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you sir."

Tom stared him in the eyes for an agonizingly long several seconds, as if reading his intentions, his trustworthiness, his _worth_ through the unflinching gaze that locked into place between them.  And then, finally, he nodded.

"What's your name, boy?"

"Aleks, sir."

Another nod, his unsettling blue eyes moving past him to look at Cara again.  His firstborn, his princess, the turning point of his life.  She gave him a little smile, and in it he saw all the contentment and happiness and hope that he was only just beginning to catch a glimpse of at her age.  He sighed, glancing over at the blond man, exchanging a look with him that seemed to contain an entire conversation in the space of a moment before turning back to offer Aleks a wry smile.

"Well, my bartender's doing six months for criminal mischief.  You need a job?"

 

 

 

The End

 


End file.
